


I Can't be Away From You.

by Riika_01



Category: Banana Bus Squad, The Misfits (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Drama & Romance, Everyone is almost the same age, Falling In Love, Fluff, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I'll try to squeeze the others in, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Webtoon, Lui doesnt show up a lot, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Making Out, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Romance, Slow Burn, Smoking, Spells & Enchantments, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, Talking Animals, Teen Romance, Teenagers, The main ship is John/smii7y, Transphobia, Underage Smoking, Upload schedule is weird, Violence, Wands, ah get it because he doesnt upload
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 36,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23721103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riika_01/pseuds/Riika_01
Summary: This fic was inspired by the webtoon "That Awkward Magic"One day, Jaren Smith found out that his grandmother was an evil witch, known for her many crimes, and has inherited her powers. How will he and his relationships develop with his new found magic powers?
Relationships: Brock Barrus/Brian Hanby, Cam | GoodGuyFitz/SwaggerSouls, Cam | GoodGuyFitz/Toby | TobyontheTele, Craig Thompson/Tyler | I AM WILDCAT, Evan Fong/Jonathan | H2ODelirious, John | KryozGaming/SMii7Y, Lui Calibre/Daithi De Nogla
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	1. #1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so real quick: I started this as I'm writing another fanfic, but I have a couple of chapters ready right now for both of them, so I should be good for a while. My upload schedule is shit since I'm impatient and I might upload 3 chapters in a week idek. I'll try to keep everyone in character.
> 
> Also I should point out that everyone is 17, but Jonathan and Lui are 19, Brock and Anthony are 18 (Anthony was held back one year) and Fitz, Jaren and Toby are 16. I did this becuase it felt weird to have everyone on the same grade since their real ages are different.

Jaren ran down the hallway, checking his watch for the 10th time. Of course, he was late once again. His week has been going awfully, he thought, as he sprinted one last time towards his classroom.

He turned a corner and bumped into someone, and just had to fall on top of them. The books he was holding were scattered all over  
the floor and Jaren blinked multiple times before he actually realized what happened.

He fell on top of someone and... their lips touched.

Oh my fucking God what have I done, he thought as he quickly stood up on his knees and looked at the other person, dumbfounded.

It was a guy around his age, he thought, with light brown hair and a jeans' jacket with... flowers sewed on it?

"Can you get up?" The man said. His voice was low and quiet, as if he had just woken up. "Y-Yes, sorry." Jaren stuttered out, quickly getting up altogether.

"Man, that fucking hurt-" The other person said, getting up as well. "You alright?" He added.

Jaren nodded shyly, trying to get out of his head the thought that he had just fallen on someone, kissed them and just stood there like an idiot.

"H-How about you?" He asked back, looking up at the man. "Yeah, I think my tooth is broken." He replied, rubbing his chin with a pained expression.

"Oh my God I am so sorry-" Jaren panicked, taking a step closer. "I-I swear I'll pay you back to get it fixed!"

"Kidding" The person said, a snicker on his face.

Oh wow, that was mean. Jaren let out a sigh and dropped his head in embarrassment. As he did, his eyes fell on his watch and his face sprung back up towards the man "Shit, I'm late." He mumbled as he dropped on the floor, picking up his scattered books.

He saw another hand reaching for one of his books, and Jared looked up. "You better hurry" He said, handing the last book back.

"Thanks!" Jaren said and started running away towards his chemistry classroom.

He took a step inside the classroom and the bell rang. Right on time.

He sat down at his desk, brushing a lock of brown hair out of his face. He put his books on his desk, his forehead bumping of them. The teen let out an exhausted sigh, looking up again and seeing his friend Anthony staring at him with his eyebrows raised. "What?" Jaren asked, resting his chin on the books.

"What?" Anthony said back, glancing down at Jaren's books. "You got them wrong."

"Huh?" Jaren raised his head and looked at his books. "Wait, this is not mine-" He said, inspecting a blue and red book. "What do you mean it's not yours?" Anthony asked, looking closer.

"Where is my book?!" He said, looking around his backpack. "Boy you're stealing now? Never expected this from the Canadian" Anthony shook his head and crossed his arms on his chest, giving a disappointed look.

"I did not steal it!" Jaren quickly defended himself. "Why would I steal a book?!"

Anthony thought about it for a second. "Okay, point proven." Anthony reached for the unknown book and opened it, reading the first page. "Oh wow, don't know who this person is but their notes are so well written" He said, showing it to Jaren. "You better copy these. Your grade would go up."

Jaren snatched the book from Anthony's hands and then shoved it in his backpack. "I'll find out who's this is. Do you know people who are in the Fashion department?"

Anthony stared at him for a second. "Do I **look** like I know the snobs?" He said, clearly annoyed.

Jaren was in the Graphic Design department, as well as Anthony and a couple of his friends. His friends described him as the friendly kind, since he made friends rather quickly, but he still wanted to remain on the low.

He didn't want to become one of the "Popular kids" nor make friends with them, since they were "obnoxiously loud", "troublemakers" and "shit faces", as his friend Tyler would describe them.

The teacher stepped in the classroom and everyone quiet down in a second. Class started, but all Jaren kept thinking about was where his lost book could be.

40 minutes later, class was dismissed and Jaren grabbed his things rather quickly, then sprint out of the room, leaving Anthony behind. He ran towards the cafeteria, since everyone from the school ate there, except for the Arts kids, who ate lunch in the garden behind the school.

He opened the huge doors of the cafeteria and there were people all over the room. Fashion kids are supposed to look flashy, right. So Jaren scanned the room, looking for the "Weirdest looking people in the room".

His eyes landed on a girl who wore a very bright highlighter pink jacket, green cap and orange ripped jeans with weird patches of different shades and patterns cloth. Jaren approached her and her group of friends. He cleared his throat to make his presence known.

The girl with the green cap looked up. "Yes?" She said in a thick British accent. "Um, do you happen to know the owner of this book?" He asked, quickly taking it out of his backpack. She looked inside and read the name in the front page with a disgusted look on her face. then shook her head. "No, I don't."

"O-Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you" He said, stepping away from the table and approaching a different one, asking the same question.

After 15 minutes of asking, he finally got a hit. "Oh yeah, I share an English class with this dude." Jaren's eyes gleamed with hope. "Do you happen to know where he is right now?" He asked, taking the book back. The other guy scoffed. "Yeah right, as if I'd be friends with someone as low as him."

Jaren tilted his head. "What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at the book and then back at the guy. His friends at the table giggled and one of the girls jumped in the conversation. "You're talking about **him** , right?" The guy nodded and the girl started snickering as well. Now Jaren was even more confused than before.

"He's a fucking fag" The guy finally said, and the people at his table started laughing out loud. "I imagine you never saw him, but if you did, you'd run away asap"

Okay, not Jaren was pissed. What the fuck is wrong with these people? Who even are they to judge someone like that?

Jaren lightly shook his head, trying not to insult them in 5 different languages. "So, when is your English class? I'd like to return it, at least."

"Next period, the last classroom on the second floor, right side." The guy replied. Jaren honestly thought he was going to ask for money in exchange for that information. He quickly thanked him and walked away, not wanting to be breathing the same air as those people.

He sat down at an almost full table, a sigh escaping his lips. "Dude you look like you're going to die tomorrow" One of the people said from across him. "Shut up Tyler. I just spent the longest time talking to only Fashion kids. I have the right to die tomorrow".

Tyler made a throw up noise, making Craig, who sat besides him, laugh. "You should eat something tho" Craig said, handing him one of the many sandwiches David was eating. "Hey!" He protested, trying to snatch the sandwich away, but failing. "At least ask!" The Irish friend complained, defending his other treasures with his arms.

"Oh come on, you're tall enough. At least make Jaren grow a little" Brian teased, receiving a blank stare from the latter. "Wow, thanks." Jaren said, unwrapping the sandwich and taking a bite.

"What were ye even doing with the snobs anyways?" Brian asked, taking a bit of his own food. "I have someone's notebook, and they have mine" He explained, mouth full of food. "Gross" Tyler mumbled.

"Sounds like something ye'd do" David commented, devouring the remaining of his food. "Thank you too. Is it an Irish thing to be mean or something?"

"Yup" David and Brian said at the same time. Jaren sighed. What good friends I have, he thought. "Where's the others?" He asked, looking around. "No idea where Evan and Jonathan are, but Brock's home sick." Brian replied. "The others must be around here... Somewhere" He added while looking around.

"Got it-" Jaren said, but got interrupted by the loud bell ringing in the cafeteria. "Oh shit I have to run!" He stood up quickly, getting dizzy for a second. "See you after!" Jaren yelled as he ran away from the group and out the cafeteria, headed towards the stairs.

After an awful lot of exercise he really hated doing, Jaren burst the doors of the classroom, very out of breath. All the student's attention focused on him. "Uh... Is there a-" He looked at the book again. "—John Keyes?"

"Who's asking?" A voice behind him said. Jaren yelped and jumped forward, almost losing his balance. He turned around to look at the mysterious owner and his eyes immediately fell on those flowers again. "Oh, it's you..." The person, John, Jaren figured, said. "Whoever you are" He added.

"Ah- Yes! I'm Jaren. Jaren Smith, from the Graphic Design department." He introduced himself, still a bit out of breath. "And why is someone from the other building looking for me?" John asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jaren handed the notebook to John. "I have our notes... And you may have mine? I don't know, I just assumed since I-"

"Woah, calm down there" John interrupted Jaren's rambling, reaching for his own notebook. "Thanks for returning it. And yes, I do have yours. I think we switched them when you "bumped" on me." He said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Jaren's cheeks became bright pink when he thought again at the accidental kiss and the embarrassing fall. "Y-Yeah, sorry again." He said quietly. "Can I have my book?" Jaren asked, noticing the class starting to fill and that he should hurry to go to his if he didn't want to be late once again.

John nodded and reached inside his bag that was dangling on his left shoulder. Jaren quickly grabbed the white book and put it in his own backpack. "Thank you" He said with a smile. "But I really have to run!"

"Careful to not jump someone else on the way." John said with a smirk he didn't care to hide. Jaren's cheeks were very red now and the tip of his ears burned a bit. He tried to hide himself in his small figure, which made John laugh. "You better run, bunny."

The nickname made Jaren even more red, and he decided to leave before his head exploded from embarrassment. The slightly shorter male said a quick "Bye" and ran away towards his own classroom.

John stood there to watch him run away for a second, with a small smile on his lips. "That kid is interesting", he mumbled to himself, then finally stepped inside his classroom.


	2. #2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to add that all the spells are totally made up words I got from latin. I know they sound cringe but what can I do? I'm quirky like that xdxd
> 
> Oh yeah the names are made up too.

After that exhausting day, Jaren was finally home. His legs hurt because of all the running he did today, and his bed felt incredibly comfortable.  
  
But then, that heaven-like feeling disappeared when his phone started ringing. He grunted and reached for his phone in his pocket, answering without reading who the caller was. "Yes?" Jaren said lazily.  
  
"Is that how you greet your grandmother?" The voice on the other line said. At the mention of the word "Grandmother", Jaren stood up quickly, fixed his clothes and sat up straight, as if she'd be able to see him. "Good." She said.  
  
"Do you need something, grandmother?" He said in a very polite tone. "Do I need something? Have you forgotten that the first test was today?" Her angry tone was very noticeable, and Jaren cursed in his mind. Yep, he totally forgot. "O-Of course I didn't! I was just getting ready!" He lied, standing up and gathering some of his things from his desk. His grandmother made a disappointed snort, complete with a "Humph" sound.  
  
Exactly one week ago, Jaren made a discovery. His grandmother was a witch. Not an ordinary one, but the most evil out of all. She broke many rules such as casting forbidden magic, using magic for her own purposes, copying forbidden magic books to keep for herself, and she even created some spells only she knows. All the other witches in the magical realm either fear her, envy her or worship her.  
  
 _She was also very strict,_ Jaren thought as he grabbed a magic book from under his bed. Unfortunately, Jaren's mom did not inherit her magic, but somehow Jaren did. A boy, did. His grandmother, Claudette Vixen, was very surprised, but mostly interested and curious. She wanted to test his skills, magic abilities, resistance, and everything a witch has to know about herself. Or himself, in this case.  
  
"Hurry up, Klaiden is coming to pick you up." She said and hung up the phone. Jaren sighed and continued getting ready, dropping his phone down on his nightstand. When he heard a knocking sound coming from his window, he knew it was time. He slowly opened it. "Hey Klaiden" He greeted, letting Klaiden inside.  
  
"Greetings, young master. Is everything ready?" Jaren nodded in response and the brown owl gave a slow nod as well. "Very well. We shall departure." He said, knocking his beak twice on the wooden floor, opening a blue portal. "After you, young master." The owl flapped his wing towards the portal, and Jaren jumped inside without hesitating, quickly followed by Klaiden.  
  
The arrival was immediate, and Jaren saw his grandmother standing near her cauldron. "Hello, grandmother" He greeted, getting close to her. She turned around, glaring at Jaren from head to toe. "Boy is your mother not feeding you? You look like you could break any second." Claudette brought her bright red polished nails to her mouth, resting her other hand under her elbow. "This needs to change" She added, waving her finger in the air towards Jaren.  
  
Klaiden gave a small chuckle, flying up to rest inside his cage. The boy sighed, his shoulders dropping. "Up straight!" She immediately scolded and Jaren fixed his posture right away. "W-What are we doing today, grandmother?" He asked.  
  
Claudette looked around the room for a second. "Klaiden, where is my wand?" She said, looking up at the resting owl. The latter quickly started flying around the room, returning with a sick in his claws. Claudette grabbed her wand and offered it to Jaren, pointing the tip towards herself. Jaren hesitantly grabbed the wand from his grandmother's hand.  
  
"Try casting..." She started, flipping a book she had on the table near her cauldron. "Something like "Lumen" should be enough, right?" She asked Klaiden. The owl gave a slow nod and Claudette turned her gaze back on Jaren. The teen gulped. "L-Lumen" His hand was still and his voice quivered, but nothing happened. "More clearly, Jaren!" She scolded once again. "If you don't believe it then who else will?!"  
  
Jaren took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the wand. "Lumen!" This time he sounded more confident, and a sparkle of light appear on the tip of the wand for a second, then disappeared. He looked up at his grandmother, as she fixed a lock of her white hair behind her ear. "Again" She simply said. Jaren repeated the spell, but nothing happened. Claudette sighed and snatched the wand from her grandson. "Lumen." She said in a calm tone, and immediately small orbs of yellow light came out of the wand and illuminated the room. "This is how it's supposed to look." His grandmother explained. "Just fix your thoughts on what it should look like."  
  
"Alright" He said, and grabbed the wand that was offered back to him. Jaren closed his eyes and took another deep breath, thinking way too hardly on the small lights his grandmother made. The spell was repeated, and when he opened his eyes he saw a single yellow orb floating towards the room. "Not bad, beginner." She said. "Now try this one."  
  
A couple of hours passed, and Klaiden brought Jaren back home just in time for dinner. If Jaren was exhausted before, now he has to be at least a step from dying. His grandmother asked him to practice the spells he learned and be back 2 weeks from now to see where practicing takes him.  
  
"Thanks Klaiden" Jared said to the old owl as he left through the window, then the teen dropped the books and wand his grandmother gave him on his desk. "Jaren? Are you studying still?" His mother yelled from the stairs. "No mom, I'm done!" He yelled back, quickly grabbing the books and wand again and hid them inside his closet, under a few clothes he had scattered everywhere messily. "Dinner is almost ready" His mom said, and Jaren took the opportunity to grab his phone and check his texts. He had 2 from Anthony and 3 from Tyler, and he read Tyler's first.  
  
 **3 hours ago**  
Wildcat: where did u go  
Wildcat: i thought we were meeting up after  
  
 **1 hour ago**  
Wildcat: u dead?  
  
Jaren realized he went straight home after school because of how tired he was and quickly gave a reply to Tyler.  
  
 **Now**  
Smii7y: sorry i was tired :/  
Smii7y: ran everywhere today  
  
After replying, he closed the chat and opened Anthony's.  
  
 **2 hours ago**  
Panda: did u find the dude  
Panda: ?  
  
 **Now**  
Smii7y: ye i got my book  
  
He grabbed the backpack from his desk, opened it and grabbed the mentioned book, then opened his camera app and took a picture of the notebook on his bed and sent it to Anthony. Jaren then decided to turn the camera around and snap a pic of himself with a derpy face and post it on his Instagram profile, with the caption: Feeling cute, might delete later.  
  
He was then called by his mother and dropped the phone on his bed, going down the stairs. He quickly ate the dinner on the plate, giving vague answers to his mother's questions. They weren't in the best of terms but not the worse either. They just... didn't talk a lot and decided it was fine like that. Since Jaren had no siblings and his father was never present, the house was quiet and the meals felt empty. The cooking that he so much loved felt like nothing now.  
  
After eating, he sprinted upstairs towards his room. He turned on his PC and hopped on discord. Jaren saw Vanoss, BasicallyIDoWrk, H2ODelirious, Wildcat and MiniLadd nicknames in one of the voice chats and joined them. "Sup" He greeted, receiving laggy greetings back. "Y'all playing?" Jaren asked. "Yeah, wanna join? We need a fifth since Evan is not playing COD" Tyler said. "We'll finish this one and I'll invite you" He added. In the end, they ended up playing all night and went to sleep at 4 in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first thought about the story I was going to write I got stuck on the thought "Do I use wands or not?". After a while I just said fuck it and used them anyways. I also had no idea how to make the text seem more of an "original" thing but that's too much work I'm lazy.


	3. #3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the waittt I realized too late what day it was lol

"You look like shit-"

"Yeah, thanks Tyler." Jaren said, resting his elbow on the lunch table and his head in his hand. "You look more sleep depraved than usual" Craig added, sitting to Tyler's left. With him, there were also Marcel and Scotty.

Jaren sighed and dropped his face on the table. "I haven't been able to sleep lately" Jaren lied. The truth was that he's been practicing magic every day, and that really drained him. "Are ye eatin that?" David asked, pointing to Jaren's cheese and ham sandwich.

Jaren shook his head and David happily snatched the food away, adding it to his tower of food. "Where does he even put all that food" Marcel mumbled to Scotty, which shrugged. "His second stomach needs food as well" Brian joined in, sitting next to David.

David and Brian started bickering again, while Tyler and Craig talked about the next class they shared. Jaren slowly drifted to sleep, but before he could actually fall asleep, someone sat besides him.

He turned his head. "Anthony you're unusually la-" Jaren almost fell from his chair when he saw that the person sitting besides him was, indeed, not Anthony.

He stopped breathing when he noticed that flowers filled jacked. "Mind if I sit here?" John asked, turning his head to look at Jaren with a side smile.

"Y-Yes. Wait, I mean- No, I don't mind!" Jaren stuttered, sitting up straight on his chair. John chuckled and faced forwards, freezing for a second.

"Who's this?" Tyler asked, looking at Jaren. "Ah, right. He's John. I had his book, remember?" He reminded them. John quickly introduced himself properly. "So, these are Brian, David, Tyler, Craig, Scotty and Marcel." Jaren said, pointing at each of them properly.

"And why are you here?" Tyler glared at John, receiving a light shove form Craig. "What?" He said, turning to Craig. "Don't be so fucking rude." Craig scolded, glaring at Tyler. The latter scoffed in annoyance. "A snob would never sit away from his group of pussies-" Craig hit Tyler again, and the two started fighting once again.

"Don't mind him," Jaren lowly said. "He's friendly, just a bit protective." He added. John laughed quietly. "Yeah, very friendly." Jaren made a nervous laugh. "Is that all ye eatin'?" David's gaze was fixed on John's food, then he lightly shook his head. "Uhh... You're the one who eat too feckin much." Brian pointed out, waving his fork around.

"But what are you actually doing here? I thought I'd never see you again...  
Since, you know..." Jaren left the last words hanging. "Since I'm part of  
"the snobs"?" John finished, starting to eat his lunch. Jaren nodded.

"Let's just say that I'm not welcomed there." John simply explained, and Jaren remembered what one of the people he talked to said about John. "Oh... I heard tha-" Jaren quickly shut his mouth. "S-Sorry." John shook his head and looked at the teen besides him. "It's fine, I don't mind it anymore. Who gives a shit about what they say?" John shrugged, going back to eating his lunch. "They just need to talk about something that's not how fucking great they are or how much money they have." He added.

Jaren giggled lightly at that. "For being in the Fashion department, they're dressed pretty badly" He said in a snicker. John laughed as well, almost chocking on his food. "One time I saw a guy with bright green hair and clothes. He looked like a highlighter" At that, Jared started laughing with John.

For those 20 minutes Jaren and John talked, Jaren felt like all his tiredness flew away. He felt like he slept for 10 hours and his energy was maxed out. But unfortunately, lunch period was over. Everyone stood up and cleaned after themselves, and John and Jaren walked together towards the cafeteria's entrance. "Um... See you?" Jaren said, sounding more like an answer. Would he need an excuse to see him again? Could they maybe become friends?

John smiled and snorted quietly, making air come out of his nose. "Sure, after school?" Jaren's face lit up, but he tried to hide it. "Meet you at the gate!"

-

The school day was finally over, and John was waiting outside the school gate for Jaren, who was fashionably late. John checked the time on the phone once again, then sighed and put it back in his pocket.

Another 5 minutes passed, and John was about to give up, when fastening steps approached behind him. He turned around and Jaren was running as fast as he could. The latter stopped in front of John, gasping and panting for air. "S-Sorr...y" He started, almost wheezing. "I- I feel asleep during last period and the janitor just- just woke me up".

John chuckled. "I thought you ditched me" He admitted, a faint smile on his face. "Sorry" Jaren repeated, finally having restored the right use of his lungs. "I really need some coffee" The shorter male said, fixing his backpack on his shoulder. "Wanna get some?" John offered, playing with his car keys on his index finger. "Uh... Sure!" Jaren accepted, a small smile on his lips.

"Let's go then" John started walking towards his car and Jaren shortly followed. John stopped in front of a black and a bit "lived" car. "It was my mother's" He explained as he inserted the keys and opened the door, hopping in. Jaren did the same. "Have you ever been to the coffee shop about... 20 minutes from here?" John asked, looking beside him to Jaren. The other teen shook his head. "I usually go to the Starbucks near my house" He said, looking back at John, which was looking at him with a disgusted look.

"Dude, Starbucks sucks. So overrated" John shook his head in annoyance and started his car, pulling out of the parking lot. "Wait, no it's not! I mean, yeah it's not that good, but at least it's something" Jaren protested. John clicked his tongue a couple of time. "Then get ready to blow your fucking brains out" John made a small explosion with his hands and Jaren chuckled at that.

The rest of the drive was quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence, since he had the opportunity to head John mumble along some rap song he didn't know about. Jaren like that. He was enjoying himself so far.

"We're here" John announced, parking the car and turning off the engine. Jaren looked out the window. "A diner?" He asked. "I thought you said it was a coffee shop" Then added. John snorted quietly. "Yeah, but it's mostly known for its coffee. Plus, the pancakes here are to die for" John explained, then opened the door. "Let's go get your coffee" He said as he closed the door. Jaren got out as well, following John inside.

The strong smell of coffee, waffles and pancakes immediately filled his nostrils. It was a sweet fragrance, with a hint of milk and strawberry. The decorations inside were lovely and the kids eating pancakes with such joy made something sparkle in Jaren's chest. He looks besides him at John, who was smiling at him. "I know, right?" He whispered, and Jaren knew exactly what he meant. Why isn't this place more popular?

John put a hand behind Jaren's back and gently pushed towards the counter, the old lady standing behind it waving at them. "Hey Johnny!" She friendly said. Her voice was sweet, as if she knew John for a very long time. "Hi Chris. This is Jaren. Jaren, Christine" John introduced, crossing his hands on the counter. "Hi" Jaren shyly greeted the lady, who smiled at them. "It's rare to see you bring someone here" She teased, serving a cup of coffee to another person standing near them.

"Oh wow, mean" He feigned hurt, bring a hand to his heart in a very dramatic way. Christine chuckled. "What can I get you guys?" She asked, a kind smile on her lips. "Can I get a mocha coffee? With extra chocolate please?" Jaren asked, and John lightly chuckled. The shorter male looked up at John. "What?"

"Nothing," John started. "For some reason I was expecting something like that" He said, muffling his laugh in his hand. Jaren looked down in embarrassment, his cheeks painted a light shade of pink. "The usual for me" John said, looking at Christine. She nodded and gestured towards one of the empty booths. "Go sit, I'll brin them to you when they're ready" And so they did.

They sat at the booth in the corner, the light shining right on the table. "She seems nice" Jaren said. "She is" John admitted, looking at the woman. Jaren looked behind his shoulders at her and then back at John. "How do you two know each other?" Jaren asked, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his fingers. "I just come here often" John replied.

There was silence between the two, just calmly waiting for their own drinks. Jaren checked his phone and saw a text from Evan.

 **43 minutes ago**  
Vanoss: were playing later, u joining?

Jaren thought about if for a second, and maybe some time away from all his "studies" would be a good opportunity.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: k when?

"You know," John started, breaking the silence. Jaren looked up and locked his phone. "I would've never thought that we'd be getting coffee together after what happened and what you might have heard about me" He continued, looking very serious at the other. ""After what happened"?" Jaren asked, not recalling what John was talking about.

John smirked. "What, you forgot already?" Jaren squinted his eyes, trying to remember everything that happened between them. Was it at lunch? When his friends were mean to him? Or the fact that he asked around about him?

The taller male chuckled when he saw the other trying so hard to figure it out. John lightly tapped his own lips with his index finger, lightly brushing against the mole on the right side of his lip, and it clicked.

_Oh, that._

Jaren's head exploded in embarrassment, having forgotten about it only recently. For the past week, it was all he thought about, over and over again. He looked down, trying to hide his shame from the other's gaze. "S-Sorry about that" He said, his voice cracking. Awesome, now he was even more embarrassed. John chuckled. "Your ears are red" He teased. Jaren quickly hid them with his hands, shutting his eyes close.

"Here's your coffee, sorry for the wait!" A young waitress said with a smile, placing the two cups down on the table. Jaren took a big breath, trying to calm down and brought his own cup near himself. "T-Thank you" He stuttered, and his eyes caught a glimpse of John's, smiling directly at him.

For a second, he was caught in them, almost trapped. As if he was drowning in that blueish eyes. Or maybe it was green, Jaren wasn't sure, but he was surely stuck there, staring at John's eyes like an idiot.

"Earth to Jaren?" John said, and Jaren blinked a few times, releasing a breath he was holding. "Y-Yes? Sorry I was-- Thinking about something" He lied, bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip, burning himself. "Fuck it's hot" Jaren cursed under his breath, making John laugh once again.

"Stop laughing at me" Jaren mumbled, keeping his eyes on his coffee. "Can't help it. You act way too cute to be a guy"

Jaren almost choked on his own spit. "I- I what?" He stuttered, looking at John once again, and he wished he didn't. He saw John's cheeks become slight pink, looking at the side, outside the window while sipping on his iced black coffee. "Sorry, that... came out weird." John apologized, placing his cup on the table. "It's- It's fine. Some of my friend say I act a bit... "girly"" He admitted, blowing air on his coffee and then taking a sip.

And there was silence again. This time it was awkward. What was Jaren supposed to say? Change the subject? But he didn't know what John likes to talk about or... basically anything else about him. Did he have the right to ask about things about him? Like maybe the things he liked to do on his free time? Or-

Jaren's thoughts got interrupted by a voice yelling from the other side of the diner. "That John?! Dude!" Jaren turned around and saw an incredibly tall guy standing next to the one that was yelling, the incredibly short one that was... wearing a helmet? _What?_ The two started approaching their tables and Jaren softly whispered to John. "Do you know them?" John sighed "Yeah..."

"Fucking slut ditched us! I knew it!" The shorter guy said, raising his hand to high five John, but nobody clapped his hand. "No? Okay-" Then he high five'd himself. "Who's this?" The taller guy finally asked, looking down at Jaren. He didn't look intimidating, but he had some kind of "leader" aura around him. "Just a friend, don't harass him." John said, drinking his coffee.

 _We're already at friends level?_ , Jaren thought. "Anyways, come smoke with us" The shorter man said. John lightly shook his head. "Pass. I have things to do later."

"Like what? Fuck a deer or something?"

"Yeah dude, you know I can't let her down. She's waiting for me already." John sighed, checking the time on his wrist, even if he wasn't wearing a watch.

"Aw man, that sucks. Don't let your lady wait"

**WHO IS THIS AND WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?!**

"Okay Eric stop, you're way too high" The taller man said, putting a hand on the shorter's shoulder. The other sighed. "But moooomm-!" The guy with the helmet, Eric, complained, dropping his shoulders. "No buts, come on let's go get your waffle." Eric sighed and said bye to the other two.

Jaren looked at John dumbfounded. "What the fuck just happened" John started laughing. "They're always like that, I got used to it. Cameron and Eric, by the way, both in the arts department." Jaren nodded in understanding, finished drinking his coffee. "How did you meet them?" He asked. "I saw them smoking in the park near here, and they invited me." John explained quickly, without giving too many details. "Didn't know you smoked" Jaren admitted. John smirked and gave a quiet scoff. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me"

Then, Jaren's phone started ringing. He quickly took it out of his pocket "Oh, it's my mom" He said, picking up. "Mom? Yeah. No, I'm- I'm studying at the library. Yes. See you later"

He put the phone back in his pocket. "Sorry, my mom wants me to be home soon." Jaren apologized, starting to pick up his bag. "It's fine, it's getting late anyways" John acknowledged, picking up his backpack as well. "I'll give you a ride home" He added, standing up from the booth.

"Thank you" Jaren said, a faint smile on his lips. They approached the counter and John took out his wallet. "It's on me" He said, taking out a 10 dollar bill. "What? No! Let me pay for mine" The other protested, grabbing John's forearm. John shook his head. "I invited you, so I'll pay."

Jaren sigh and hesitantly let John pay for both of their coffee's. "Next time I'll be the one to pay." Jaren said as they were walking in the parking lot. John smirked. ""Next time"? You're iviting me out already?" Jaren's cheeks became light pink real quickly and slowly nodded. John's smile didn't falter. "Alright, next time then."

They both hopped into the car and drove to Jaren's house, following the latter's indications. They were talking about nothings during the ride and the car stopped 10 minutes later. "Thank you for driving me. And for the coffee" Jaren said, opening the car door and stepping outside. "Anytime" John said with a side smile.

"See you?" Jaren asked.

"See you" John repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I've been writing this on my pc as a "test", I decided to pass the chapters on my phone and continue writing there since it's more comfortable and I make less spelling mistakes. Hope the changes don't bother y'all too much.


	4. #4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration where aaareee youu ;;;

Today is the second day of Jaren's test, and he doesn't feel prepared at all. He has been practicing every day, well almost, but he still wasn't able to cast some spells properly. Jaren even tried casting some new ones on his own from the book, but he wasn't able to perform them that well.  
  
Jaren kept staring at the clock on top of the blackboard of his chemistry class, and he felt as if time went by twice slower than usual. He felt something patting his shoulder from behind, and he turned his head a bit to sneak a glance of the person behind him. "Dud, why're you sighing so much? Did a girl reject you or something?" The person asked in a whisper. Jaren slowly shook his head and whispered back. "No Craig, I'm just tired" He lied, writing something down on a paper, pretending to take notes when the teacher glared at him.  
  
"If something happened, let us know, okay?" Craig quietly said, and Jaren nodded in acknowledgment. It was nice that his friends worried about him, and he also felt a bit guilty of it, but he couldn't just pop out of nowhere and say "Hey guess what? I'm a witch!". They'd most likely assume that he want smoking weed with some of the students from the Arts Department.  
  
After what it felt like the longest lesson all day, Jaren quickly gathered his things and stepped outside the classroom with Craig. "What class do you have next?" He asked while walking in the hallway. "I think I have English" Jaren replied, following Craig and keeping to his side.  
  
"See you at lunch then?" Craig asked, stopping at a corner. "Sure" Jaren replied, stopping as well to say bye. After Craig left, Jaren turned back around at the ocean of students before him. He sighed and went in the crowd, trying to walk to his locker before anyone pushed him or stepped on his shoe. Fortunately, none of those things happened, and he reached his locker safely.  
  
He quickly put the combination in and opened his locker, quickly shutting it right after. Jaren looked around at the other students and then back at his own locker. Did he really see that or was he just imagining it? He slowly opened it, peeking a glance inside. Yep, he was definitely sleep deprived and/or on drugs.  
  
"Klaiden?" He whispered, trying to not get heard by anyone else or making anyone see what he was seeing. An owl was in his own locker. "What are you doing here?" Jaren asked and the owl made a noise like a giggle. "My master asked me to bring you this" He said, handing Jaren a necklace with his claw. "And this couldn't have waited?" He asked again, taking the necklace in his hand. "Miss Vixen said to wear it all day and never take it off" Klaiden explained, flapping his wing a bit.  
  
Jaren sighed and decided to not question his grandmother's decisions, examining said necklace. It had a big pearl on the front and it looked more like a locket. He tried to open it but it was immediately stopped by Klaiden. "It contains magic powder, it's supposed to make young Master's magical powers manifest quickly. It is also highly illegal" He said, whispering the last part. Jaren gulped and nodded, putting on the necklace and hiding it underneath his shirt.  
  
Klaiden opened a portal on the side of the locked and flapped Jaren goodbye. "I will be meeting you later, young Master" And he disappeared. Jaren heard the bell ring, and he cursed under his breath, grabbing the books he needed and shoving them in his backpack. He then slammed his locker and sprinted away towards his next classroom.  
  
But he bumped into someone.  
  
"Goddammit not again–" He mumbled, stumbling backwards, but the person he collided with grabbed his wrist to prevent the upcoming fall. "I'm sorry" Jaren apologized, "And thank you" He added, looking up at the other person. "Nice to see you again" They said. "And you're still jumping on me" They added with a smirk. Of course John had to say that, Jaren thought as he blushed lightly. "Sorry, I'm always on a hurry" He apologized once again, keeping his head low.  
  
John giggled and patted Jaren's hair with his other hand. "It's fine, just slow down before turning corners, alright?" He advised.

Jaren looked up to apologize once again, but he almost choked on his own breath. He just noticed that John was wearing round glasses and that hit something in him.

"Are you okay?" John asked, tilting his head to the side. "Y–Yeah I'm–" Jaren let out a deep breath. "I'm f–fine" He stuttered out. "I'm- I'm late!" The shorter teen suddenly burst out, trying to come up with something to get as far away from John as possible. John, still worried about Jaren, hesitantly let go of the other's wrist. "Be careful" John repeated and Jaren nodded, walking very fast towards his classroom.

_What the fuck was that?!_

-

Lunch period was finally there and Jaren was hating it. Why? His friends were all late, so he was sitting alone on a table, quietly eating his lunch. He poked one of the peas on his lunch tray with a fork when he saw someone putting down their own lunch tray in front of him.

Jaren glanced up and met the other person's eyes. "Mind if I join you?" John asked and Jaren shyly shook his head. "Why are you all alone today? Did your friends ditch you?" John asked. Jaren shrugged. "I don't know, maybe?" He put some of the peas in his mouth and started munching.

"Hey, wanna go eat some proper food?" John asked out of the blue and Jaren looked at him weird. "Wait, what do you mean?" Jaren asked, and John chuckled silently. "Let's get out of here" He said, standing up and grabbing his tray. The other looked at him for a second, then he turned around to look at Jaren. "You coming?"

Jaren, still confused, stood up and followed John towards the entrance. They both threw their food away and walked out of the cafeteria. "Where are we going again?" The shorter male asked and John gave him a side smirk. "Do you like burgers?" John asked, ignoring the other's question. "Who doesn't?" Jaren shot back, making John laugh. "True"

They kept walking down the hallways and out the school, into the parking lot. John took out his keys from his jeans pocket and unlocked the car. "Hop in" He said, throwing his bag on the backseats, and Jaren followed. "Are you going to kidnap me or something?" Jaren asked, placing his own backpack on the back seats as well, but less violently. John laughed again. "Aren't you supposed to ask that before getting in the kidnapper's car?"

"So you are kidnapping me!" John smirked and turned on the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and on the main road. "So, are you finally going to tell me where we are going or are you going to keep it a secret?" Jaren asked after some minutes of silence. "I told you," John started, stopping at a red light and turning his head to look at Jaren, resting one arm on the steering wheel. "I'm taking us to eat some proper food" He finished with a shrug.

Jaren looked down at his own legs, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. "Oh come on, you can't tell me you actually enjoyed eating that shitty food by yourself" He teased. "I- I don't but at least tell me first!" Jaren stuttered, trying to come up with something less embarrassing than the fact that he didn't have money for "proper food" at the moment. His mother only gave him the needed amount for lunch, and he already spent most of his money already. "Besides, I already ate a bit!" Jaren added, looking out the window.

"Please?" John said in a weird, high-pitched voice, making deer eyes to Jaren, which he saw in the reflection. Jaren sighed. "Fine, whatever." He finally gave up, seeing a smile appear on John's lips. He turned around to face the road once again after someone from behind honked at them.

The rest of the trip was full of small talk and a couple of giggles here and there.

"What do you want to get?" John asked as he pulled into the drive-thru. Jaren glanced at the items listed on the board and their prices. "Just fries, I'm not that hungry" Jaren replied, taking out his wallet. "And you're not paying for me this time" He added, raising his index finger towards John. The other giggled and nodded. John told both their orders to the employee on the other side of the speaker, and they both waited for the food to be ready.

When it finally was, Jaren gave the money for his share to John, and he added his own amount, giving them to the young employee on the other side of the window. "Alright, have a nice day!" They said as the teens drove off with the bag of food on Jaren's laps.

"Oh, I know a park where we can eat this. It's not far" John suggested, driving towards said park.

And as he mentioned, it wasn't far at all. In less than 5 minutes, the car stopped. John grabbed the bag of food and walked outside the car, shortly followed by Jaren with the drinks.

John sat down on the grass with the bag on food in his hands. Jaren stared at him with a confused look. "Oh don't look at me like that! Sit down" John incited, placing the bags on the grass.  
  
Jaren hesitantly sat down in front of John, crossing his legs and placing the drinks in front of him. John opened the bag, taking out the pack of fries and handing them to Jaren. The other grabbed them and thanked him out of habit, already putting a fry in his mouth.  
  
"Wait for me at least" John complained with a giggle, taking his burger out as well. Jaren shook his head. "No way, cold fries are the worst" Jaren objected, eating another fry. John reached for the fries and stole one.  
  
"Hey! That's mine!" Jaren said, shielding the rest of the fries with the hand he wasn't holding them with. John chuckled, unwrapping his burger and taking a big bite out of it.  
  
"So, um... Is it fun to make clothes?" Jaren asked out of the blue. John stopped himself from taking a sip out of his coca cola and looked at Jaren with a curious look. "You interested?" John asked back, biting the straw.  
  
Jaren stared at John's lips and bit his own, ripping his gaze from them once he realized he was staring. "Uh... N–not–" Jaren's voice cracked, and he quickly hid it while clearing his throat. "Not particularly... I'm in Graphic Design, so I guess those things kind of go together...?" Jaren answered, sounding kind of insecure.  
  
John kept playing with the straw while analyzing Jaren. "Hmm... I see. Well, if it wasn't fun then I wouldn't be here" John said with a chuckle, putting down his drink to go back to eating his burger.  
  
Jaren let out a nervous laugh. "R-Right... So do you– Do you make your own clothes?" Jaren asked again, putting in his mouth the last fry. John looked down at his jacket. "Not really, I just change stuff a bit." He explained, fixing his jeans jacket which had a bunch of sewed-on flowers.  
  
Jaren thought that John liked flowers, since he wore those a lot. Or maybe he just thought they looked nice, he had no idea. John was kind of a mystery to him. Somehow, they kept meeting each other and spending time together felt... nice. Better than any of his other friends.  
  
Jaren looked down at the grass and bit his lip, trying to hide a smile. John seems like a very nice friend. He didn't care what people said about him. Jaren was sure that if they tried to look over appearances, they'd find a very sweet friend as well.  
  
"Helloo? Earth to Jaren?" John waved his hand in front of Jaren's face and the other suddenly looked up and John. "S-sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?"  
  
John chuckled silently and grabbed the paper bags they scattered all over the floor. "I said that we should head back. Lunch break is almost over" He repeated himself, standing up to his feet.  
  
"O-oh! Yeah, right. I forgot we had school still" Jaren stood up as well, grabbing the now empty cups. "Let's throw these out and get back" Jaren nodded, and they walked towards the entrance of the park, throwing their trash on a garbage bin on their way there.  
  
The ride back was more relaxed and fun that the previous one. Both John and Jaren sang along a popular song and Jaren even danced a little, if you could call "moving in a very tight space and in a sitting position with following the rhythm of the music" dancing.

John parked the car on the school's parking lot and turned off the engine. "This was fun" Jaren said with a pleased sigh. "Yeah it was. We should hang out more often" John agreed, turning his face to look at Jaren. "Oh, I just realized I don't have your number" John added, digging in his jeans pocket for his cellphone, handing it to Jaren once he found it.  
  
Jaren giggled silently. Alright, that was a smooth way of asking for someone's number, Jaren thought while grabbing the other's phone and typing his number in. Jaren quickly returned the phone with a small smile and John saved the contact. "Sweet. Guess I'll text you then" John smirked and Jaren blushed.  
  
Did he really just give his number without even thinking twice? Oh, God, what if he's really a bad person and was tricking Jaren into trusting him?  
  
Jaren's panic thoughts quickly got the best of him, thinking of every way possible how everything could become very bad very quickly.  
  
The ringing of the bell from inside the school brought Jaren back to his current location: John Keyes' car. Not his classroom or the hallway or anywhere inside the school.  
  
Jaren cursed under his breath. "I'm going to be late again!" He cried out, grabbing his backpack from the backseats. "Thanks for this, I really had fun, but we should probably go?" Jaren said in a panic and John giggled. "You're right, let's go" John agreed as he grabbed his own bag and stepped outside of the car, following right besides Jaren.  
  
"I'll– uh... Maybe see you later?" Jaren shouted while walking backwards way too quickly, and John scoffed with a grin on his lips. "Be careful to not trip!" John shouted back and Jaren gave him a thumbs up before turning around and sprinting towards the school doors.  
  
John rolled his eyes, grin still present, and walked towards the entrance as well. This was a very enjoyable lunch. Maybe the most enjoyable John's ever had all year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters might be shorter than this one? I dont know, I dont have a "words count" on my notes :/


	5. #5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hi there. I finished my other story so I can finally focus on this one 100% ^^/

The final bell finally rang and Jaren gathered his things in his backpack sloppily, a sigh escaping his lips. "What's wrong?" Anthony asked, backpack already on his shoulder. "Nothing, I– I'm just tired" Jaren lied, zipping his bag close.

"We're meeting up to go to Evan's, you in?" Anthony offered, walking towards the hallway with Jaren. "I can't today, sorry" He said quickly.

Klaiden was going to pick him up today and go to his grandma's for his second lesson, so he needed to be prepared both mentally and physically. Jaren wasn't really in his best form since some of the spells didn't really work, so the stress was getting to him. Jaren didn't want to disappoint his grandmother. Or anger her. Or both.

Anthony clicked his tongue and rubbed Jaren's arm. "Alright man, see you Monday then" He said, walking in a different direction than the one Jaren was going in. Jaren gave a small wave and gritted his teeth, sucking in a shaky breath.

The way home was the same as usual: walk until the bus stop with headphones on, get into the bus and then go home. Nothing exciting really happened, and that was his norm.

Jaren unlocked the front door and stepped inside, turning the lights on. Of course, nobody was home. Figures. Jaren raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes, gripping the strap of his backpack while walking up the stairs.

He immediately dropped on the bed, slouching at the edge of it. His phone started vibrating and he took it out of the pocket. After reading the name of the caller, Jaren fixed his posture right away and cleared his throat before answering. "Hello grandmother" He greeted, slowly dropping his bag on the bed.

"I see you learned your lesson from last time" The voice from the other line nagged. "So, I assume Klaiden gave you my present?" She kept talking without giving Jaren a chance to say anything back. "Y–Yes grandmother. I'm wearing it" Jaren said, touching the amulet through the shirt.

"Good. Klaiden will come pick you up in a bit. Be ready" Claudette warned and hang up right after. Jaren sighed and put his phone back in his pocket, standing up and gathering his things.

-

"I see the necklace is having effect" Claudette acknowledged, bringing a hand to her chin and inspecting Jaren harder. "You can notice?" He questioned, feeling a bit nervous.

"Of course," Claudette said gesturing. "You have magic particles flowing out of your body like blood from a wound. Also, your magic has improved" She expressed, then she raised the rim or her bordeaux turtleneck sweater and took out a wand from her hip, where it was secured between her hip and her jeans.

"Occultatio sphaeram" Claudette said, pointing the wand towards Jaren. All of a sudden, Jaren felt all his energy return to his body, as if he'd woken up from a very long and much needed sleep. "W–What did you do?" He asked, slightly amazed.

"Cast that spell after you're done practicing. It's used to prevent this mess of energy from going anywhere" She quickly explained. "And also to not make it so obvious to other witches that you have magic" Claudette added, grabbing her book from the table behind her and flipping some pages.

"By the way, where is the rest of your magic?" She asked, glancing at Jaren for a second. "E–Excuse me?" Jaren stared at his grandmother in confusion. "I get that you're young and all, but your magic levels are way too low" Claudette added while still flipping the book. "You're also a man, but really?" She mumbled, shaking her head lightly.

"Wait" She stopped. "Could it be that you found a familiar?" Claudette looked at Jaren in the eyes, and he had no idea how to respond to that. _How? What? When?_

"I... W–What?" Jaren stuttered, confused as hell. Claudette sighed and put the book down on the table. "Klaiden is my familiar," She started, pointing to the owl next to her. "I gave part of my magic to him, that's why he can use magic, talk and things like that." She explained, crossing her hands in front of her chest. "B–But I don't have a pet... Or, familiar" Jaren declared.

Claudette thought about it. "Master, mind a word?" Klaiden interrupted, lightly flapping his wings. Claudette nodded at him and he mumbled something to her. "Oh! Why didn't I think of that?" She exclaimed, taking her book again and flipping some pages quickly.

"There it is!" She said, slamming a finger on a page of the book. "Pet indago: A spell used to find lost familiars" The witch read out loud, passing a finger over the words. "Try it" She ordered, turning the book towards Jaren.

The teen looked at the book, carefully reading the words on the book. He then took a big breath and gripped his wand. "Pet indago!" He shouted, and a small, blue thread was knotted on his index finger. "So you do have one... I wonder how you managed to do that" Claudette mumbled. "Anyways! Let's end here for now. Come back next week, and bring your familiar!" She said loudly.

Jaren was almost sure that his grandmother was enjoying this more than anything else. Since she was in a good mood, Jaren decided to leave without questioning any further. "Thanks again, Klaiden" Jaren said after the owl brought him back to his own house. The brown owl gave a small bow and left again.

Since the lesson was shorter than last time, Jaren didn't feel that much tired. He looked down at his right hand again, and he noticed that the thread was still there. The teen tried to grab it with his other hand but his fingers went right through it.

"How do I even get rid of this thing?" He whispered to himself, still staring down at his finger.

The small ring of his phone brought him back from his thoughts. Jaren took it out and unlocked his phone.

 **Now**  
Unknown: hey

Jaren looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: who dis

It didn't take long for the other person to reply.

 **Now**  
Unknown: a secret fan of urs

 **Now**  
Smii7y: want an autograph?

 **Now**  
Unknown: omgg yaaass

Jaren chuckled quietly.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: whos this for?

 **Now**  
Unknown: John

Jaren choked on his own spit. John texted him?! Wait, is it that John or someone else?

 **Now**  
Smii7y: John? John Keyes?

 **Now**  
Unknown: the one and only

Jaren threw his phone on the mattress and stood up, walking back and forth in his room. Why was he getting all worked up for a normal text? Jaren gave him his number for this reason, so why the overreacting? Well, he had no idea either.

There was another ring on his phone and he froze. What was he supposed to say to him? How did he have to talk to him? Like he did normally or maybe more... Chill?

He slowly lifted his phone who was still on John's chat.

 **1 minute ago**  
Unknown: was just wondering what ur up to tomorrow

Tomorrow? Saturday?

 **Now**  
Smii7y: nothing rlly, y?

 **Now**  
Unknown: wanna hang out?

_What?_

Jaren stared at his screen, completely dumbfounded. His brain went a million places and nowhere. What was he supposed to say? Pretend that something came up? Or just say yes? After all, they both have fun hanging out with each other and John seems like good company, Jaren thought. And maybe he'd be able to know John better. Maybe even become friends.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: sure

 **Now**  
Unknown: cool, is 3pm ok with u?

 **Now**  
Smii7y: 👍

 **Now**  
Unknown: cya at the park we went to today then

A small smile appeared on Jaren's lips, and he bit his lip, saving his new contact under "John". Jaren flopped down on his bed and a satisfied sigh left his lips. Today wasn't a bad day at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously need a better way of writing these texts but I'm too lazy for that :/   
> I'm not good with this smh why are you still reading?


	6. #6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wildcast is really helping me figure out some of the personalities with each person. I've been watching them for so long but I just realized how little I actually know of them.
> 
> Also, FLUFF!

The ringing of his phone drove holes in the back of his head. Jaren buried his face deeper in the pillow, trying to cover his ears with it. Why the hell did he put an alarm on Saturday?

He raised his head and looked for his phone on the nightstand. A couple of things fell on the ground but Jaren was too tired to actually care. After finally finding it, he unlocked his screen and turned off the alarm.

Jaren shove his phone under the pillow and rested his head again, but the ringing continued. He raised himself up with a grunt and took out his phone again.

The teen almost fell off his bed, but he actually did, when he saw the time: 13:52. He untangled the covers from his legs, cursing under his breath multiple times on the floor before finally succeeding, standing up and running towards the bathroom.

He undressed faster than he ever did in his life and hopped in the shower, yelping when the cold water hit his half-asleep body.

After a very quick shower, he returned to his room and opened the dresser, throwing some clothes on the ground as he cursed himself for not choosing his outfit the night before.

Jaren finally settled with a dark green hoodie that had way too long sleeves, and black jeans with his usual white tennis shoes. He checked himself in the mirror and grabbed one of the many caps he had piled up in a corner of his closet, putting it on.

The green cap to match his shirt, perfect. It also made it easier to work on his hair since he didn't have to at all.

Jaren grabbed his long forgotten phone from the bed and unlocked it, clicking on text notifications from his friend's group chat. He read some of the messages while brushing his teeth, chuckling at the guys messing around with Jonathan and Evan.

A ding and notification from his phone almost made Jaren swallow the toothpaste. He rinsed his mouth and dried it, then read the message.

 **2 minutes ago**  
John: hey i got lunch  
John: idk if u ate yet so i thought id text u

Jaren quickly typed his response while running around the house to grab his hose keys, wallet and coat.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: hey! i didnt eat yet so thx :)

Right after sending the text, another one popped on his screen.

 **Now**  
John: its cool if you did i can eat both

Jaren chuckled at the weird timing and closed the house door after getting out, making sure to lock it. He typed again while walking on the sidewalk.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: lol dont worry. Ill be there in 5 :)

He pocketed his phone after reading John's "k" and kept walking a bit too fast towards their meeting place.

-

"Hey" John greeted, raising a hand towards Jaren. "Hi" Jaren said back with a small smile. "Sorry if I kept you waiting, I kind of overslept" Jaren explained. John chuckled and shook his head. "It's fine, it's nice out anyways" John reassured, starting to walk towards a bench in the park, shortly followed by Jaren.  
  
They both sat down and John placed the paper bag he was holding between the two. He opened it and took out a paper cup, handing it to Jaren. "Mocha coffee for you" He explained, looking at Jaren's confused expression. "I didn't know what else you liked, so I just got a burger. Is that okay?" John added, taking out said burger.  
  
Jaren bit his lip, trying to hold back a smile. He took both of them, looking down at the ground and then back at John. Jaren didn't know John that well yet, but he thought that he was such a nice person. John remembered the coffee Jaren liked and even bought him lunch.  
  
"Thank you" Jaren said quietly, looking back down at his legs. For some reason, he felt slightly embarrassed. It could have been because of the way John was staring at him or the fact that he was getting spoiled, _again_.  
  
The shorter male took a glimpse of John's smile and almost choked on his own breath. "Good" John whispered, taking out another cup from the bag. He unwrapped the straw and put it in the drink, taking a sip right away.  
  
"What did you get?" Jaren asked, trying to focus on anything but the way John's lips wrapped around the straw. "Iced coffee" John said simply, leaning back on the bench, then letting out a satisfied sigh.  
  
Jaren looked at John with furrowed brows and a dumbfounded expression. John burst out laughing when he noticed. "What?" He said, trying to stop his laughter.  
  
"Don't "what" me! How can you drink iced coffee with his cold weather?!" Jaren asked. At that, John laughed harder. "I got boiling hot blood" John shrugged. Jaren noticed that John wasn't wearing a coat, he had only a black and yellow striped sweater and ripped jeans.  
  
Jaren shook his head and put down his drink on the bench, then he unwrapped the burger and took a bite. "What the fuck this is so good!" Jaren cursed out loud, turning to look at John. The latter raised his eyebrows and took another sip of his drink while Jaren kept eating. "Glad you like it" John said, biting on the straw.  
  
The burger was gone before Jaren even realized it, and he already missed it. "You need to tell me where and how I can get another one of those" Jaren said as he took out a straw from the now empty paper bag and unwrapped it, stabbing the hole on top of the cup with it. John chuckled. "Only if I can take you there" He replied, keeping his head up towards the sky but glancing at Jaren. The teen nodded and John smiled, looking back up at the clouds.  
  
Some time passed in silence. The two just sat there, Jaren taking sneaky glances at John and John looking up, thinking about who knows what. Jaren took another sip of his coffee and a loud, slurping sound broke that silence. Jaren immediately put the cup down with rosy cheeks. _God, that was embarrassing._  
  
John let out a quiet snort and looked at Jaren, who stared down at his own legs. The cap was covering his face but the light red on his neck was clearly visible. "Let's go" John said out of the blue, standing up.  
  
Jaren looked up at John, still feeling slightly embarrassed. "G–Go where?" He stuttered. John just shrugged and Jaren stood up as well. He reached for his empty cup and paper bag, but John did as well, making their fingers touch.  
  
The shorter male immediately withdrew his hand, making the cup fall on the grass. "S–Sorr–" Jaren stuttered, holding his hand close to his chest and his eyes down on the ground. _Did he really feel that or did he just imagine it?_  
  
At the touch, a shock wave went through his fingers and hit deeply at his chest. "You don't have to worry so much" John tried to reassure Jaren. The latter looked up at John, a faint smile on his lips. Jaren took a deep breath and slowly nodded at John, who nodded back and bent down to pick the fallen cup.  
  
Jaren looked at his own hand and almost cursed out loud. The thread is back.

The teen sighed, then shook his head and decided to help John clean up, but he stopped even before he could move again.

  
The other end of the thread was tied up on John's left index finger. Jaren was frozen in place. What? How? And most importantly, why? Does John have anything to do with witches? Maybe this was all a plan to get Jaren to trust him and then use him at his own will. Or–  
  
"Jaren?" John waved his hand in front of Jaren's face and the latter blinked a few times, returning from the station of _overthinking_. "S–Sorry I was... I was thinking of something else" Jaren excused himself, a fake smile on his lips.  
  
John stared at him for a second, furrowing his brows. "I was asking what you want to do" He repeated, putting their garbage in the bag.  
  
"Oh– I... I don't know, sorry" Jaren apologized again and John sighed. "You don't need to apologize this much" John noted. "Sorr–" Jaren stopped himself and John let out a snicker. "Oh yeah!" John said loudly out of the blue. "I forgot; I still have a blanket in my car, wait for me" John explained quickly, walking towards the exit of the park.  
  
Jaren decided to wait and sat on the bench and his thoughts got the best of him once again. Was John really his familiar? But John is a human, not an animal like Klaiden. How did that even happen? Jaren assumed that Familiar Pacts are something that both parties agree with, or at least even one of them, because Jaren didn't want that to happen!  
  
Jaren felt something tap his shoulder, and he turned his head to the side, where John was standing and holding a folded beige blanket. "Found it. Wanna go lie down?" John said, looking slightly out of breath. Did he run? Jaren nodded and stood up, following John towards the trees.  
  
John stopped and unfolded the blanket, placing it on the grass under a big tree. He then sat down and tapped lightly the space besides him. Jaren hesitantly sat down besides John and crossed his legs, trying to keep some distance between them.  
  
It was a bit chilly under the tree's shadow but his coat was doing a good enough job with keeping him warm so Jaren didn't mind it. He glanced at John. "Aren't you cold?" Jaren asked and John looked at Jaren. "What if I say yes? You're gonna keep me warm?" John joked and Jaren blushed immediately. The other started laughing and Jaren blushed harder.  
  
"Stop teasing me" Jaren complained in a quiet voice and John chuckled. "No way, it's too much fun" He admitted, staring at Jaren. The latter hid himself in his cap, trying to keep John's piercing gaze away from himself.  
  
"But aren't _you_ cold? I saw you shiver before" John said sounding serious. Jaren lightly shook his head, letting go of his cap and lowering his hands on the blanket. John hummed in understanding, resting his back on the tree behind him. Jaren bit his lip. John was way more observant that what he thought.  
  
Suddenly, something warm touched his hand and Jaren looked down, noticing John's pinky finger on Jaren's. He looked at John, who was keeping his head up and looking at the leaves of the tree, then he looked back down.  
  
"So much for "not being cold"" John murmured, and yeah, Jaren's hands were freezing. Jaren glanced up at John and noticed the small hint of pink on his cheeks. A small smile appeared on Jaren's lips and he turned his head to look forwards.  
  
Why was his heart racing? Why did John's touch feel so warm and reassuring? Also, why didn't Jaren want it to stop? Why did he want more? Why was his hand inching closer towards John's? He didn't know. But he knew that he didn't hate it.  
  
John's hand was now fully on top of Jaren's and he gave a gentle squeeze, making Jaren chuckle silently. That put a smile on John's face. "John–" Jaren started, turning to face him, the other did the same. "Thank you"  
  
"For what?" John asked, looking slightly confused. Jaren bit his lip and looked forward. "For asking me to come here. And for yesterday. Just... Thank you for everything" Jaren tried to explain as best as he could. John chuckled and squeezed Jaren's hand. "Does that mean that I can do that again?" John asked.  
  
Jaren gave a slow nod and John moved his hand to intertwine their fingers. "Cool" He said with a smile on his face.

Honestly, Jaren had no idea what he was doing. Sitting in a park God knows where in the middle of November and holding hands with someone he knows close to nothing about. A guy, too.  
  
If one of his friends saw him right now, they'd tease him for the longest time. They've known each other since their first year and Jaren joined late since he's the youngest of the group, but they were already teasing Evan and Jonathan for being close.  
  
"You're tense" John pointed out, and Jaren froze. Was his hand sweating? The shorter male gave a nervous chuckle, trying to hide his worry behind it. "Is something wrong?" The other asked.  
  
"I don't–... I don't really know what I'm doing" He said honestly, scratching the back of his neck with his other hand. John went silent and Jaren turned to look at him, surprised that he was staring back. "Are you... uncomfortable?" John asked, feeling and looking insecure.  
  
"No– I– Of course not–" Jaren panicked, realizing too late what he just admitted. "I mean– Fuck, I–... I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying. Forget it" He rambled, not even knowing where he was going with that sentence. He just hoped John would say something and save himself.  
  
But he didn't. John kept quiet and that made Jaren even more panicked. What was he supposed to say? He just wanted to run away and shove his head under the sand.  
  
"I..." Jaren started talking again after taking a big breath. "I'm sorry. This is all... new" He tried to explain, glancing down at their hands. "So you're fine with it?" John asked. His voice was lower than usual and somehow that made Jaren even more tense.  
  
The latter gave a slow nod, feeling both embarrassed and insecure. John let out a long sigh and let go of Jaren's hand, turning his whole body to face Jaren. "I'm sorry" He said, staring straight at the shorter male.  
  
"What are you apologizing for?" Jaren asked, turning as well. "I shouldn't have done that... Just– Forget it." John suddenly stood up and dusted off his clothes. "I have to go" He added, looking down at Jaren.  
  
And the overthinking came back. Did Jaren do something wrong? Did he say something bad? He didn't want to leave, not like this at least. "Did I... say something wrong?" Jaren mumbled, looking down at the blanket. John crouched down immediately. "No– You didn't. I just..." John sighed, sitting down again.

"For some reason, I always feel like I want to get closer to you. I want to be your friend and–" John stopped and looked at the side, clearing his throat. "It makes me do stuff without thinking. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me" He admitted, picking at his yellow-polished nails.  
  
Jaren blacked out. Did he feel that way because of the magic? Was that happening because of him? What was he supposed to say? Jaren didn't want John to get caught up with his own mess. He didn't even know what a familiar is, yet alone what to do with them or how they feel.  
  
"It's stupid, I know" John's mumbling got Jaren back to reality, and he shook his head way too quickly, feeling dizzy for a second. "No– It's not stupid. And it's not your fault" Jaren tried to reassure the other, grabbing his hand to stop him from picking at his nails.  
  
His mind was clouded with insecurity and questions, not knowing what to do next. Jaren felt that maybe if he told John about the magic, they could find a way to break the pact off. But if it didn't go like that? What if John went totally crazy? Or didn't believe it? What if he started to spread rumors about Jaren?  
  
The brunette took a big breath, trying to find some peace from all these loud thoughts. "I can explain... this" Jaren said, gesturing at John from head to toe. "But please don't tell anyone or go crazy..." He added, biting the inside of his lower lip.  
  
John looked confused and stared at Jaren in disbelief. "What do you mean you "Can explain"?" He asked and Jaren grunted. "Please promise me" He repeated and John nodded, "Alright".  
  
Jaren took out his phone from his jean's pocket and dialed a number, putting the phone near his ear and he waited for the other person to pick up.

" _Hello, Grandmother_ ".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go listen to Wildcat's podcast if you haven't already smh.
> 
> Also I knoww it's a long chapter but I didnt know where to stop it–


	7. #7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo how's y'all doing?

"Hello, Grandmother" Jaren greeted. "My, why the sudden call? We've only seen each other yesterday" She chanted with a surprised tone. "Um..." He hesitated, not knowing how to word it. "I found my... familiar" He finished, pausing once again mid-sentence.  
  
"Isn't that wonderful! Klaiden, bring my grandson over here!" Claudette commanded and the owl followed. "Wait I'm not–" Jaren was interrupted by the fast beeps coming from the other side. "She hung up..." He mumbled to himself and put the phone down with a sigh.  
  
"The hell was that?!" John asked. Jaren had seriously no idea how to explain everything to John.  
  
"Young Master," A voice echoed in the trees. "I'm glad to see you're doing well" It continued, and Jaren looked up, trying to spot the familiari voice.  
  
"Your grandmother is expecting you" Said Klaiden, flying down in front of Jaren. He gave a small bow, his wing folding in front of himself. "We're ready to go" Jaren pointed out and the owl nodded, making a blue portal appear on the tree behind John and Jaren, which they both fell into.  
  
The trip was immediate and both the guys were instantly teleported into Claudette's cottage. "What the fuck just happened?!" John said loudly, looking around the room in utter confusion.  
  
"I–I know how it looks, but–" Jaren got interrupted by Claudette's heel hitting the ground. "Silence!" She shouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Why is a human here?! Klaiden!" Said owl quickly flew in front of Claudette and bowed down to her, keeping his gaze on the ground. "Explain this foolishness!" She demanded.  
  
"G–Grandmo–"  
  
"I said silence!" She shouted again, making Jaren flinch. He looked down and quietly apologized to her, unable to say anything more.  
  
"The human was with the Young Master, Miss. I hadn't–" Klaiden couldn't finish his sentence as he was interrupted. "So you made a mistake?"  
  
Her glare was deadly, able to make any child cry and any animal flee, but John was staring straight at her. The woman noticed, since she was directing her freezing glare at John. "Human" She called, stepping forward towards the teens. Claudette examined John from head to toe, squinting her eyes.  
  
"Grandmother" Jaren called quietly, still afraid of meeting her gaze. "P–Please let me explain" He stuttered, and the woman directed his gaze at him. "Speak" She demanded. Jaren cleared his throat, fiddling on his feet. "M–My familiar... Is John... I– I think?"  
  
Claudette scoffed, cocking out her hip. "A human?" She laughed silently, but Jaren nodded. John kept glaring at the older woman in front of him.  
  
The amused expression on her face quickly changed into one more displeased. "How can a disgusting human become a familiar?" She clicked her tongue, taking a step back from John.

"I– I don't know how it happened... B–But! He has the... thread?" Jaren glanced down at John's hand, seeing said thread. The color was faded, close to turning invisible. Claudette examined the man, furrowing her brows. After a couple of seconds of silence, the woman turned around and muttered something to herself. Jaren pretended not to hear the comment she made about John. Claudette dismissed Klaiden, telling him to "return to his chores".  
  
The woman flipped one of the many books on her desk, messily thrown everywhere. The room was silent the only things Jaren could hear were the pages being flipped and his own fast breathing. He was scared. Was his grandmother disappointed? Or mad?  
  
He knew she didn't like humans that much since she wasn't that big of a presence in his life before his "awakening", but Jaren didn't think it was this much. The teen wondered if something happened.  
  
"Jaren!" The woman yelled, making him jump out of his thoughts. "Stop spacing out!" Claudette was right in front of him, a wand in her hand. "S–Sorry" He muttered under his breath.  
  
"I still can't believe this" She whispered to herself, running a hand through her short, white hair. "But you still should test this. Familiars are creatures witches use for their own personal use, and as such they obey their commands, willing or not" Claudette explained, glancing at John before returning to her grandson.  
  
Jaren looked at John as well, who was still glaring at Claudette. "J–John?" He called, and the other teen looked at Jaren, his expression quickly relaxing. "Are you okay?" Jaren asked, slightly concerned. John nodded and looked away from Jaren.  
  
The air was tense, as if the smallest spark could make the room explode. Claudette snapped her fingers in front of Jaren, trying to catch his attention. "As I was saying, you should use one of said commands. Humans are..." She stopped, thinking for a second. "... Peculiar creatures. Besides, humans as familiars is something completely unheard of!" She ended, crossing her arms.  
  
Jaren gulped. Did he hear that right? " _Use a command on him_ "? "W–Wait, how?" He asked, completely lost. "Pet tricks" Claudette said simply and both Jaren and John shouted a "What?!" at the same time.  
  
"Bullshit! I am not going to be treated like a fucking dog!" John complained, not holding back his anger. "What the fuck is all of this anyways?! I'm a "pet"?!"  
  
"Enough!" Claudette yelled back, stepping in front of John and pointing her wand on his neck. "You better be grateful you're my grandson's "pet", or I'd have killed you the instant you stepped foot in that portal!" She warned, pushing the wand harder on John's jaw.  
  
Jaren quickly intervened, trying to grab her grandmother's wrist. "Please stop!" Jaren shouted, closing his eyes shut. "I know this is confusing but don't fight! I–I didn't mean for this to happen" The shorter brunette looked at John. "I'm sorry, I–I'll fix it!" He apologized, and Claudette took back her wand.  
  
A deep sigh escaped the woman's lips. "Breaking a contract is not that easy of a thing" Claudette explained. "That's why making one is such an important decision for a witch. It would take months, maybe even a year. Any sooner would be too much of a shock for a familiar" She finished, and Jaren's expression dropped quickly.  
  
He didn't want to look at John, how mad he would be and Jaren was low key getting himself mentally ready to get a couple of punches. "Fine" He heard John say with a sigh and Jaren's eyes went wide open. "W–What?"  
  
"We're stuck in this, I guess" John shrugged. He definitely looked and sounded like he didn't like this at all, but he was still agreeing to it? "Awesome, can we begin now?" Claudette said, the first part sounding very sarcastic. Jaren looked at John and nodded. "Fine" Jaren repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much really happened here, I know, but even small details are important!
> 
> probably idk I have no idea what I'm doing–


	8. #8

"So, try it!" Claudette said after explaining to Jaren how and what to say. Jaren cleared his throat. "P-Please sit" He stuttered, feeling shy about the words coming out of his mouth. When he realized that nothing actually happened to John, which was standing right in front of Jaren, he turned bright red.

Claudette grunted besides him. "Jaren, it's a command, an _order_ , not a request." She explained while rubbing her forehead with her hand. Jaren nodded and gathered all the courage he had left in him. "S–Sit!" He shouted, shutting his eyes tight. The only thing he heard after that was a loud thud.

He quickly looked up, noticing John sitting on his knees with an uncomfortably straight back. "That hurt" John complained, rubbing his knees while still holding his position.

"At least he can do that. A human is not as useful as an owl or a rat, but that'll do for you" She whispered to Jaren. "S–So I can do this anytime?" Jaren asked.

John's eyes widened. "No you can't!" He yelled. "Yes, but it's safer to not use it in front of other humans" The woman warned, ignoring John. "My back hurts" John kept complaining and Jaren quickly apologized. "Sorry! You can move freely now!" He ordered once again, and John's shoulders slouched as soon as the words left his mouth. "Much better" John said while standing up.

"Master," Klaiden interrupted, flying in the room through a portal. "Miss Karrie is here to see you" He explained, bowing down to the woman. The latter grunted, rolling her eyes. "Such a nuisance. You two may go now. Klaiden, bring them back" Claudette ordered and the owl quickly followed, making a second portal appear in the room.

The two teens left quickly, John being literally pushed by Jaren, and they found themselves back in the park. Jaren sighed and his legs finally relaxed, falling to the ground on his knees.

John grabbed Jaren's arm without thinking, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the other from falling. "I'm already exhausted" Jaren sighed out, looking up at John. The other gave a half smile and tugged Jaren's arm, telling him to stand up.

The younger male followed with a grunt. "I think you should go home" John said, helping Jaren up. "You do look tired" John added. Jaren sighed once again. "Yeah, maybe I should". His eyelids felt heavy, and he felt so many emotions in one day that they did tire him out. "I got shitty batteries" Jaren joked, making John chuckle. "Come on, I'll bring you home"

\- John POV -

After gathering their things, the teens stepped into the car. John glanced at Jaren, whom almost hit his head twice on the window while dozing off. John chuckled silently to himself, thinking of how cute that looked.

"Jaren?" John called, and the other made a "Mh?" sound. "Are you sleeping?" He asked, glancing at Jaren. His head was resting on the glass and his hand on his cheek with his eyes closed. Jaren shook his head slowly, " 'm not" He said, his voice cracking. John laughed silently, turning his eyes back to the road.

The rest of the drive was filled with soft, quiet snores and sneaky glances. John's head was filled with sweet comments about the other.

The car was parked rather quickly, and John hoped the ride would last longer. He looked at Jaren, fast asleep in the front seat. John took out his phone from his pocket, and he decided to take a picture of him. After taking it, he reached out his hand, taking Jaren's hat off to look at him. John noticed that Jaren had pretty long eyelashes, and the way his cheek rested on his hand made it look very soft and squishy. John ran the back of his pinky finger softly on Jaren's cheek, making the other giggle lightly in his sleep.

John stopped breathing for a second. _That was the cutest fucking thing I ever saw in my life_ , he thought to himself. John bit his lip, tracing Jaren's jaw with his finger. He stopped at the other's lips. John stared at them, looking at the way his lips move as he breathed, wondering how they'd feel.

Jaren's eyes slowly fluttered open and John pulled away immediately. It took a couple of seconds for Jaren to actually wake up. He looked outside the window, and he immediately fixed his posture.

"Sorry, I– dozed off for a second" He apologized immediately, clearing his throat mid-sentence. John shook his head with a smile on his face. "It's fine, you looked tired" He said, keeping his hands on his lap.

Jaren bit his lip. "Thank you" He mumbled, fiddling with the rim of his hoodie. "For what?" John asked, ripping his gaze away from Jaren's teeth pulling his lip. "Understanding... And going along with this mess I got you into" Jaren explained, sneaking a glance towards John. The latter laughed quietly, looking back at Jaren. "I still don't understand so you have nothing to thank me about" He joked, ruffling Jaren's hair.

The pink on Jaren's cheeks was easy to spot, and that made John smile for some reason. He had no idea why he was so interested in this boy, but he was fine with it, with not knowing or even doing anything about it. He could spend time with Jaren, so everything else was less important.

Besides, now John had one good reason to see Jaren more often. That was the reason he agreed to it. Spending more time with Jaren.

"I should go" Jaren said, looking up at John. The taller man smiled, "See you at school". Jaren smiled back, opening the car door and stepping out, waving at John before walking towards his house.

John relaxed on the backseat, a long sigh escaping his lips. He wondered what would've happened if Jaren didn't wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smol POV switch, hope you don't mind lol


	9. #9

Why do you keep ditching us, dude?"

Jaren looked up from his phone and noticed that his friends were staring right at him. "What?" Tyler clicked his tongue, turning his head to look somewhere else.

"You haven't been hanging out with us lately" Anthony rephrased Tyler's question, in a gentler tone. Jaren pocketed his phone. "I'm sorry, guys" He apologized, looking down. He looked in the corners of his mind for one of the lies he hadn't used yet. "My mom has been... stricter lately" Jaren decided on that one.

Craig stopped Tyler as he was about to get up from the bench and probably leave. Evan sighed, approaching Jaren. "It's fine man, don't worry about it", he said gently. _Of course he did_. Evan was considered the "leader" of the group, even if he didn't exactly like that title. He just had the personality that everyone likes and makes friends with just a snap of his fingers.

Jaren apologized again in a low voice and Anthony, who was sitting beside him, rubbed his arm. "Do ye need us to sneak ye out of t'a house?" David suggested, sounding serious. Jaren laughed it off and shook his head. "It's fine David, I can handle it".

Besides, he already was sneaking out of the house to go visit his grandmother or practice magic with John.

Jonathan quickly changed subject when Evan returned to sit beside him, talking about a show that came out recently. Jaren blacked out for the whole conversation, almost falling asleep on the bench.

Not only was he tired from using magic, but his studies and fucked up sleep schedule just made it worse. He noticed it happened way too often, even when he used the spell his grandmother taught him.

"Dude you're bleeding!" Brock shouted, standing up and rushing towards Jaren. "Huh?" The younger male looked up at Brock with confusion, and he noticed something wet slid down his lip. He brought a finger to it, then looked down.

Brock rushed his friends to give him a tissue. After finally finding someone who had one, Brock gently tapped the tissue under Jaren's nose, trying to block the flow.

Jaren, as instructed by Brock, held his head down, keeping the tissue to his nose. "You've been studying so hard that you're getting nosebleeds?" Jonathan asked, actually concerned about his friend's health. "N–No I don't think so".

"But you are! You need to rest every once in a while!" Brock scolded him. "I–It's fine guys, I get these often so–"

""Often"?!" Brian interrupted and Jaren sunk deeper into his ball of shame. He didn't want his friends to worry, but he just made it worse. "You should really go home and get some rest" Brock instructed, kneeling down to look at Jaren. He made the latter raise his head and Brock took the tissue, poking the other's nose to check if the blood stopped or not.

"Ye need to chill Brian" David said. "He's grown he can take care of himself. Ye'r not his mum" He added, grabbing a chip from the small bag he was holding. "Yeah but–!"

"Brian." Brock interrupted, and the other shushed immediately. "Are you feeling better?" He asked Jaren and the other nodded. Brock stood up from his kneeling position. "I'll give you a ride back" He said, grabbing his backpack and Jaren's from the messy pile of bags they put on the grass. "Y–You don't have to, I can walk back" Jaren tried to refuse but Brock was already carrying both of their bags to his car.

Jaren sighed and said his goodbyes to the others, apologizing for the hundredth time. Then he hopped in Brock's car, where he was waiting in.

The ride was silent, there were only a couple of questions about Jaren's health every once in a while.

When the car stopped, Jaren thanked the older man, then he apologized for bothering him. "There's nothing to apologize to, we care about you Jaren. It's just that some show it more... protectively" Brock smiled, a million words in that simple action.

Jaren appreciated his worry, and he was very grateful for his friends. He waved goodbye to Brock after being informed on what to do if another nosebleed occurred. For a minute, Jaren just stood there still on the sidewalk, spacing out thinking about something. Maybe something important, maybe something stupid, he wouldn't remember anyways.

"Jaren?" A familiar voice called and the man was broken free from his darkness. He looked around, trying to spot the source of the voice, then he saw someone approaching him, separating from the group of other teens.

"Oh, hey John" Jaren greeted, wiping under his nose with his finger, hoping to clean off any leftover spots. "What are you doing here, just standing on the sidewalk?" John asked, putting a hand in his jean's pocket.

Jaren cleared his throat. "I... just spaced out" He admitted. "What are _you_ doing here?" "Oh, just hanging out with the guys" John replied, nodding off towards the group of teens. "Eric wanted to eat icecream, so we're going to get him some. Wanna join?" He offered, a side smile on his lips.

Jaren smiled back, "Sure, why not", then they walked towards the others. "I'm back, and this is Jaren" He said, introducing the new person in the group. "Pretty sure you know Eric and Cam, so skip those–" The shorter man of the group yelled a "Hey!" of annoyance, which Jaren chuckled at. "The others are–"

"Oh, nice to meet you" Jaren interrupted, trying his best to put up a friendly expression. He wanted to appear as a "good person to hang out with".

The others looked at him weird a bit, but greeted back. "By the way, do I already know you, Toby?" Jaren asked the blonde of the group. "Uh... No I don't think so?" He replied, wondering how Jaren already knew his name. "Weird" Jaren muttered to himself.

"Can we go now?!" said Eric impatiently, tugging on Cam's arm. The latter chuckled, letting the smaller teen drag him. The other guys started walking after them, Jaren staying behind with John by his side. "He is so stoned" John chuckled to himself, looking ahead at Eric throw a tantrum, asking the others why they're walking so slowly.

-

And there he was, sitting on the hood of Cam's car and happily eating his popsicle. "If you get that on my car, I'm going to make you clean it with your tongue" Cam warned Eric, which mocked him in return. "He's such a child" Toby joked, making the others laugh. Jaren noticed that one of the guys was quietly sitting on the ground, his hood was up so he couldn't really see who, and he was licking something like paper in his hands.

"Jay, throw me a lighter" The man said, hitting the leg of the guy standing beside him with the back of his hand. Jay sighed, digging his hand in his pocket and gave the lighter to the guy on the ground. After receiving it, the hooded man put the now rolled up paper to his lips and flickered the lighter on, then returned it to its original owner.

"Hey Mason! Share!" Eric yelled when he noticed the smoke go up from the side of the car. "No way dude, it's gonna taste like chocolate" The hooded man said back, passing the rolled up paper to the man standing beside him. Of course, Jaren knew it was weed, considering the strong smell and the countless times it was mentioned.

Jay let out a puff of smoke and passed the joint back to the other. "Yeah keep sucking Jay's dick, would you" Eric complained and clicked his tongue, finishing his popsicle. He threw the stick away yelling "Yeet!", missing completely the trash can he was aiming for.

"So Jaren, which department are you from?" Toby asked the teen standing beside him. "Oh, I'm in Graphic Design" Jaren replied. "What about you?" "Same as this guy" He said, nodding to John, who was standing to the other side of Jaren.

"Toby get your ass over here" Cameron said, holding the joint in his hand. Toby chuckled and stepped towards the taller man, taking it from his hand.

"Are _you_ not going?" Jaren asked and John shook his head. "I don't feel like it" He lied. Truth was, he didn't want to make Jaren feel left out, being the only one who didn't smoke weed. Jaren nodded in acknowledgment, biting his lip to hide a small smile.

The afternoon went by quickly. The teens smoked, joked and bickered to each other, and Jaren thought they seemed like nice and friendly people. Mason was quiet most of the time, joined by Mat, Eric and Cam were the ones who talked the most in the group and Toby was just the friendly little spark of happiness of the group, making sure Jaren wasn't uncomfortable or bored.

When it was finally time to split, John decided to walk Jaren home since it was close. "You really didn't have to" Jaren said. "I said I want to, so I will" John stated, his hands in his pockets. Jaren sighed, but he didn't dislike it. Spending time with John was fun and he felt better with him.

His persistent headaches didn't show even once when he was with John and there was always a warm, welcoming feeling to him. Jaren thought it was because of the contract they shared.

"Sorry if you were uncomfortable" John said out of the blue. "Who said I was?"

"I don't know, I just..."

"They seem fun" Jaren said with a smile, glancing at John. The other smiled as well. "I'm glad then".

When they finally arrived in front of Jaren's house, they both stopped and looked at each other for a second. There was silence as they looked at each other in the eyes. Jaren glanced sideways a couple of times, but his eyes always landed back on John's. John bit his lower lip, ripping his gaze away from Jaren. "You should probably go" He said and Jaren nodded. "Yeah, I should..."

But he didn't. _Not yet_. Jaren wanted to spend more time with John. He searched in his mind for an excuse, even the stupidest one, just to stay at least a second more. "Well... See you" John finally said and Jaren took that as a cue to leave. "See you" He mumbled, turning around to open the wooden gate, then he walked towards his front door, but he stopped mid-way to look back at John.

He was walking away as well, of course. Jaren sighed and reached for his keys, opening the front door and went in. What he didn't know was that John looked at him just then, before he disappeared behind the white door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bois are hereeee! Just spreading misfit (Ah see what I did there) and rockus everywhere they go!


	10. #10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This bish is a BIG boi

_Today is going to be a good day_ , Jaren thought.

He closed the front door behind himself and took a step forward. The teen was supposed to meet with his friends at Evan's house, but since his mother couldn't take him there or pick him up, he had to take the bus. So there he was: standing at the bus stop with headphones on, staring down at his phone.

A honk caught his attention and he raised his head. He took one of his headphones off, approaching the sound. "Hey John" He greeted, slightly crouching down to meet the other's gaze. "Need a lift?" The man in the car asked, but Jaren shook his head.

"I'm just going to a friend's house" He clarified, but John insisted. "Come on, I'll take you" Jaren sighed, and opened the car door, sitting in the passenger seat. "I need to raise my resistance stat" Jaren joked with a roll of his eyes and John laughed. "So, where's this friend?"

"Oh, right" Jaren told the address to John, which quickly put it in the GPS. "What are you doing around here anyways?" Jaren asked. "Oh, nothing really. I went for a ride to change air and before I knew it, I was here" The other explained, receiving a hum from Jaren. The teen thought about what John needed to "escape from".

The drive went on pretty quietly, a soft song coming out the radio. Jaren stared out the window, looking at the scenery change quickly. Evan didn't like to call himself "rich", but he definitely was. I mean, who owns a 3 floors house for just 3 people?

Every front yard in the neighborhood was beautifully decorated and the streets were impeccably clean. Jaren scoffed, wondering to himself why Evan was in their school instead of somewhere overseas with a better education system.

The car stopped and Jaren turned to John. "We're... here? I think?" John laughed awkwardly. "Are you visiting the queen's son or something?" Jaren gave a quiet laugh. "Yeah I think the prince would own all of the houses in the whole block" He joked. "Thanks for the ride" Said Jaren with a smile. "Anytime. Consider me your private Uber" Jaren laughed again and opened the car door.

"Oh hey Jaren!" Greeted Craig, Tyler standing right beside him. "'Sup" "Hey guys" Jaren said back. Craig bent over and looked at the person in the car. "Oh, he's the one from last time! Hii!" Craig chirped, waving his hand at John. "Um... Hi?" John gave a small, awkward wave back, not knowing what else to do.

"Is he coming in as well?" Tyler grunted, receiving a back-slap on his arm by Craig. "I told you to be nice!" He whisper-yelled and Tyler rolled his eyes. "Oh, John was just... giving me a ride" Jaren explained. "Well since you're here, why don't you join us?" Asked Craig, keeping his happy tone.

John looked at Jaren and the other shrugged. "I don't think–" "Oh come on! You came all this way!" Craig interrupted, a sad puppy expression on his face. John sighed, "Alright, just let me park somewhere"

Craig raised his hands in victory with a high pitched "Yeeah!", then laughed at himself. Jaren looked and John and a chuckle escaped his lips, he then closed the door and let John go find parking. "Soo about John" Craig started, a smirk on his face.

"Oh no, I know that face! What are you thinking?" Jaren inquired. "Since when were you two a thing?" He asked and Jaren almost choked on his breath. "W–What are you saying?! We're not– I don't even know him that well!" Jaren stuttered. "Oh come on! The glances he gave you, the way you talked at lunch, he even gave you a ride!" Craig insisted, and Jaren could feel himself blushing. Why was he even blushing?

Suddenly, Tyler grabbed Craig's arm. When the other turned to protest, Tyler just glared down at him, making Craig sigh. "Sorry, I got carried over" He apologized looking down. "It's– It's fine! Really!" Reassured Jaren, waving his hands in front of him. "I don't really... care" He admitted and Craig looked up again with his usual smile.

When John finally returned, the four of them stepped in front of the big gate of the house, ringing the doorbell from outside. "Yeah?" A voice said coming from the speaker. Tyler spoke before Craig could even open his mouth. "Open up bitch". There was a snicker in the distance coming from the speaker and then a buzzing sound. Craig took a step forward and opened the gate, letting the others in as well.

Needless to say, Evan's front yard was perfect like every other one in the whole neighborhood. "Are you really sure he's not a prince?" John whispered and Jaren chuckled, shaking his head. "Would a prince hang out with us?" Jaren joked. "A cool prince would".

Craig fully opened the front door that was left slightly open. _Typical_ _Evan, too lazy to get to the door a second time_. "Hellooo!" Craig greeted loudly, opening his arms, ready to hug whoever he saw first. Evan was in the kitchen, leaning over the island while scrolling on his phone. With him was Jonathan standing beside Evan, sipping on a glass of water.

The same smirk from before returned on Craig's lips. "Jon is here already? Did you spend the night?" Craig accused and Jonathan choked on his water. "Yeah we played with each other's dick until sunrise" Evan joked, standing up properly to greet his friends while Jonathan hit himself in the chest. He evaded Craig's killer hug and gave a high five to Tyler.

"Hey Ty, Jaren" Evan greeted, then he stopped to look at the stranger in front of him. "And... um... Who are you?" He asked. "Oh, John! My– um... Friend" Jaren chimed in, trying to explain. Wait, did he have te right to consider them friends? "He gave me a ride and– um... I asked him to come in, if you don't mind" Evan squinted his eyes at the stranger and then held out his hand. "Evan Fong, nice to meet you, Jaren's friend"

John hesitated for a second and Jaren was taken by surprise as well. _That was weirdly formal for some reason_ , Jaren thought. John cleared his throat and took Evan's hand. "John Keyes" He said simply, then they let go. Jonathan, after finally learning how to breathe again, greeted his friends and introduced himself to John.

"Just call me Jon"

"That's gonna be hella confusing" Craig joked, and Jonathan laughed. "Well anyways! Make yourselves feel at home!" Evan said loudly, plopping down on the leather couch. "You can leave your jackets there" He pointed at a wall hanger by the front door and everyone took their own jackets off, then sat down on the couch.

"Who else is coming?" Jonathan asked, sitting next to Evan. "Uhhh I think only Brian and Brock" Evan thought about it a bit more. "David is at Lui's, something about GTA, and Anthony, Scotty and Marcel had plans already" Evan reminded himself, and Jonathan hummed in acknowledgment.

"Let's play Mario Kart while we wait!" Jaren suggested and everyone grunted. "Why do you want us to suffer? You already know you're gonna win!" Tyler complained and Jaren giggled. "Pleeease?" He pleaded and Tyler sighed. "Fine, I'm in. You playing?" The taller man asked Craig, sitting between him and Jaren. Craig frowned, not wanting to play the devil's game ever again.

"I've never played, if that makes you feel better" John assured and Craig sighed. "Alright"

"Alright!" Evan repeated, louder. "Battle for last place!" Everyone laughed and they started the game. Not even second lap and Jaren was already miles ahead while Tyler hit Craig with red shells and John fell off at every corner.

They stopped playing when Craig almost broke the controller after being hit by John's blue shell and finishing third.

"You suck at this game" provoked Tyler. "I'm going to rip your hair out one by one" Craig threatened and Tyler laughed and ruffled his hair. "Whatever you say"

A buzz coming from the entrance interrupted Tyler and Craig's bickering and Evan got up to get it. "Gate's open" He informed and opened the front door, then returned by Jonathan's side.

"Heeeyy!" Brian greeted loudly, Brock by his side. "Well someone looks happy" Tyler said, turning his head to look at the teens behind him. "Someone doesn't" Brian shot back, trying to hold back a snicker.

"Guess who just lost at Mario Kart?" Jonathan laughed, looking straight at Craig. "Oh shit I would've loved to see that!! This is your fault!" Brian complained, turning to Brock. "What did I do?!"

"You took too long to get here!"

"Well sorry–!"

Evan rolled his eyes. "Get a room!" He interrupted, making Jaren laugh quietly and Brian scoff.

-

The afternoon went by pretty well. Jaren was having fun with friends, and he took sneak glances towards John, making sure he wasn't getting bored. Luckily, John warmed up to them almost right away, and he was quickly joking with them. During the conversation, Jaren felt John wrap an arm behind him on the couch, his fingers lightly brushing on Jaren's shoulder.

Jaren felt his ears get warm and hoped nobody noticed. He glanced at John, their eyes meeting for a second before separating again. Jaren heard the conversation still going on, but he couldn't make out a word of it. All he had in mind was John and how close he was, yet how far it felt, and how much closer he wanted to be.

Jaren stood up suddenly and everyone turned to look at him. "Uh– um... bathroom!" Jaren burst out. "Upstairs, second door on the left" Evan instructed and Jaren hurried up the stairs. He quickly opened the door and closed it, resting his back on it.

 _What the fuck is wrong with me_ , he thought over and over. He pushed himself away from the door and got closer to the sink, looking at himself in the mirror. His cheeks and ears were deep red and his blush crept up his neck. The teen turned on the faucet, wetting his face with cold water.

The more he did, the more his thoughts got chased away from his brain. He did not want to do these things, he repeated to himself.

A knock on the door interrupted his hands from splashing himself once more. "Y–Yeah?" His voice cracked, grabbing a towel to dry his face. "Are you okay?"

Jaren would recognize that voice everywhere. John's voice. "I'm fine, just... had to use the bathroom" He lied. "You looked pretty red... Did you get sick?" John asked from the other side of the door. "N–No I–... I told you I'm fine!" He repeated, placing the towel back where he found it.

"Can I come in?" John asked and Jaren hesitated. What was he supposed to say? Yes, and maybe live his fantasies? No, and die because of them? Before he could even think of talking, his hand gripped the handle and opened the door, letting John in.

The man stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Jaren stared at the marble tiles of the bathroom, not daring to look up at John. "Are you sure you're okay?" John asked again and Jaren nodded quickly. "Look at me" John raised Jaren's head, pushing it up with his finger under Jaren's chin.

He raised his head, but kept his eyes to the side. "Jaren." The teen froze, his fists tightening. In the end, Jaren gave in and looked at John in the eyes. John bumped their foreheads and Jaren flinched, then John moved away. "You're not sick, that's good" He whispered to himself.

Jaren bit his lip, glancing down and then up again. John's fingers moved from Jaren's chin to cup his cheek, the other immediately nuzzling on it.

Another knock interrupted the tension there was between the two. "Jaren? You okay?" Craig asked from the other side. Jaren cleared his throat and replied. "Y–Yes I'm fine"

"John went to check on you but he didn't come back, I wonder where he is..." questioned Craig. "I– I don't know. He– um... He left?" He tried to lie, but his mind was clouded with thoughts about the man standing right in front of him, so close that he could hear his heartbeat. "Alright... If you say so" Craig said as he walked away from the bathroom.

Jaren let out a loud sigh and John chuckled. "Don't laugh! I was so nervous–" Jaren muttered and hit his forehead on John's chest involuntarily. Jaren sighed once more. "We were almost found out" He whispered. "Not like we were doing anything bad" John murmured, raising a hand to pat Jaren's head. "Just two bros chilling in the bathroom" He joked.

"Yeah, 2 inches away from each other" He giggled, raising his head to distance themselves. "Sorry about that–" Jaren took a step back but John quickly grabbed his arm and yanked Jaren gently towards himself. "Just a bit more" He whispered in Jaren's hair and if he wasn't burning hot before, he surely was now.

The shorter male didn't move a muscle and let himself be hugged by John. If he had to be honest, it felt perfect. It felt _right_. Better than anything he ever felt in his whole life. He chuckled to himself, thinking as something so small could make him feel like this.

"What is it?" John asked, gently pushing Jaren away to look at him. The short brunette bit his lip and shook his head. "Nothing, something stupid" He lied, trying to force his smile away. "We should go before Craig comes back" He changed subject and John nodded. "Yeah, let's go".

Totally not suspiciously, the two teens walked back down the stairs and into the living room. Craig stared at them: Jaren was red from head to toe and his hair was all messed up while John had a smirk on his lips. "They totally fucked" He whispered and Delirious snorted.

Jaren sat down on the couch, John sitting beside him. The conversation resumed fairly quickly and the rest of the afternoon did as well. The teens all grouped up on the doorstep, ready to go their own ways. "See ya at school!" Craig was the first to leave, dragging Tyler by the arm. Brian sighed, looking at Craig. "That man is going to get himself in so much trouble" He complained.

"It's fine, he's got Tyler to look out for him" Evan reassured, resting his side on the door frame. "That makes him sound like his mom" Brian joked. "Isn't that how it is tho?" Jaren giggled, and Evan laughed silently. "Anyway, we need to go if you don't want to get into traffic" Brian said after glancing at his watch and Brock nodded, both of them walking away.

And then there were four.

"Are you not going home Jon?" Jaren asked and the man shook his head. "Evan asked me to help him with his English homework" He clarified and Jaren snorted. "Like asking a monkey to cook a whole meal" He joked and Jonathan furrowed his brows. "Shutch up!" He yelled and Jaren laughed harder, joined by Evan. "I'm in deep shit then"

John smiled, looking at Jaren. "Hey, we should go as well". Jaren nodded. "Thanks Evan. I know you did this to... cheer me up" Jaren smiled kindly and Evan shrugged with a smile. "Don't know what you're talking about"

The younger male waved goodbye to both of the men in the house, walking away with John to the sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" John asked when they were both seated in the car. "I'm perfect, why?" Jaren questioned back, tilting his head in confusion. "You said you need to be "Cheered up"?" "Oh, that" Jaren sat back, hitting his head on the seat. "It's just that practice and studying kept me kind of busy and I didn't have enough time to spend with them, you know?" Jaren explained, glancing at John.

The latter kept quiet for a second. "Is... Is "practice" bothering you?" John asked, a hint of concern in his voice. "I mean, it's tiring but it's not a bother–" Jaren admitted. "Besides, if I didn't want to do it then I'd be way more down about the whole thing"

John hummed in understanding, then turned on the car when there was nothing else to be said. During the ride, Jaren sometimes glanced at John and his eyes always fell on the other's mole, right above his lips. Jaren flushed red every time John glanced back and caught the other just staring at him.

Jaren felt a bit uneasy, remembering his fast heartbeat when John held him, his scent, the way John's hand felt burning hot on his back, or when his low voice made Jaren feel all tingly.

Before he knew it, the car stopped and Jaren glanced out of the window. _Oh, we're here already,_ he thought, with a small sadness to it, and turned his head to John. "Thanks for—"

"Jaren—" John cut him off, staring straight at the other. "Y–Yes?" Jaren stuttered, surprised by John's low tone. John kept quiet, biting his lip. "It's nothing" He finally said after a silence that felt way too long to Jaren. "Um... O–Okay. See you, then" The shorter man quickly got out of the car and into his house, not turning back.

When he was finally inside the safety of his house, Jaren let out a loud sigh and flopped down on the couch, yelling his embarrassment in the pillows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best to keep everyone in character based on how they actually act in videos/livestreams but it's way harder than it looks—


	11. #11

Have you ever wondered what things would look like if some events didn't happen? What if his mom and dad never met? What if Anthony never sat in front of Jaren? What if he never met John? _And what if Craig didn't come knocking on that door_?

That last thought kept Jaren awake all night. He checked his phone for the millionth time, sighing at the numbers on the screen. It was 2:52am and Jaren was still awake.

Jaren kept his gaze to the ceiling, trying to focus on everything but _that_. That one thought that kept Jaren awake. A sigh left his lips, raising the covers up to his head.

 _I feel like a teenage girl_ , he thought. And he looked like one, too: His hair was messy, unkept, pink cheeks, rosy and puffy lips because of how many times he bit them and a heartbeat that banged on his rib cage.

A quiet buzz filled the room and Jaren put the covers back down again. "Now what..." he whispered, reaching for his phone.

After unlocking it, he almost choked on his own breath.

 **1 minute ago**  
John: ur still awake?

Jaren was close to panicking. A part of him wanted to reply so badly but the other was yelling at him to throw the phone out the window and never think about it ever again. He kept staring at the text while mess of confused yelling and anxious shouting happened in his head.

Before he knew it, his fingers were moving on the digital keyboard.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: cant sleep :/

Everything in his body was yelling "Oh no" and "What have I done" over and over again, and another buzz came from his phone.

 **Now**  
John: come out in 5

What? What is that supposed to mean?

"Wait, John is coming here?"

Right now?!

Jaren scolded himself for replying in the first place.

He stood up from his bed way too quickly, getting dizzy for a second, then he yanked one of the many hoodies he had scattered on his desk, putting it on over his T-Shirt. Jaren slipped on a random pair of shoes and grabbed his phone before opening the door.

The teen peeked just a little and noticed the light from downstairs was turned on. He clicked his tongue, making sure he closed the door as quietly as he could.

There was only one way of getting out: window. Jaren carefully opened it and crawled out of the window, stepping on the dark roof of his house. He took slow and careful steps, hoping to not fall and maybe break his arm or something.

Jaren finally reached the tree that lined up perfectly with his house and climbed down, feeling like a lost monkey. He took the final jump, and he was safely on the ground. Jaren dusted off his hands and clothes, then sneaked towards the sidewalk, freezing when he spotted a person staring at him.

"Hey there, Tarzan"

"John you scared me!" Jaren whisper-yelled, hopping over the fence and standing in front of John on the sidewalk. "I guess some of us haven't fully evolved yet" John joked and Jaren hit him lightly on the shoulder "Rude".

"How did you know I was awake?" Jaren asked and John shrugged. "Lucky guess"

John tugged on Jaren's sleeve and started walking, hinting at him to follow along, and he did. "What was keeping you up?" John asked. The shorter teen became bright red right away and hoped it wasn't noticeable. "Oh, um... I— I don't know..." Jaren lied, stuttering over his words. "Maybe I just wasn't sleepy".

John glanced at him with a smirk. "W–What is it?" Jaren asked. "Nothing, nothing" John kept walking, his smirk not fading.

A cold breeze passed between them and Jaren really regretted not putting on something warmer. He shivered a bit, keeping his hands in his hoodie's pockets in hope to warm them up. "You should have put on something" John advised, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Jaren's shoulders.

"S–sorry, and thank you" said Jaren shyly, holding the jacket closer. "Won't you be cold?" Jaren asked but John shook his head. "I'm fine".

The teens kept walking. There wasn't really a direction, but Jaren hoped the walk would tire him out enough to be able to sleep. And maybe keep some thoughts at hand.

"Hey," John stopped "Are you okay?". Jaren, took a bit off guard, stared at John in silence. His gaze was still on the other's eyes, deep with worry. "Y–yes... Why?" Jaren replied, tilting his head slightly. "You look... tired. Like, way more than usual" John admitted, taking a step closer. "It's fine, really" Jaren reassured.

John didn't believe it though. The teen raised his hand, brushing the back of his fingers on Jaren's cheek, tracing the dark circles under his eyes. Jaren was clearly blushing and the darkness of the night couldn't hide it since John was so close. So close, yet it felt so far.

Jaren couldn't take his eyes off the other, staring deeply into John's blue eyes. John inched closer, and, unknowingly, Jaren did as well, their noses brushing.

It was warm. John's breath was warm on Jaren's lips. It felt like they stayed like that for minutes when it was just seconds.

"Can I kiss you?"

Those words echoed in Jaren's ears, sinking deep into his skin and leaving permanent marks on his heart. A slow nod was all it took. All they needed to make it come true.

To finally feel like it was right. _And it was_.

John finally pressed their lips together, and it was way more than what Jaren thought.

He always thought that first kisses were "overrated" and nothing special, but he was so wrong. The sound of his fast heartbeat pounding in his chest was slowly dying down in the background.

His only thought was John. This kiss. Such a small gesture, but with so much meaning. Jaren didn't know John for that long, but he felt as if he wanted this for a lifetime.

But the magical moment had to end.

John slowly pulled away and Jaren's eyes fluttered open. He immediately licked his lips, getting a better taste of those lips he craved for. Everything else around them didn't exist right now. At this moment, it's just Jaren and John, sharing one breath.

"Wow" John whispered, a quiet chuckle following. "It felt–"

"Like you were waiting for it for forever?" Jaren interrupted, completing John's sentence. The other nodded, his thumb brushing on Jaren's cheek.

Jaren put both of his hands on John's shoulders, pushing himself up to connect their lips again. John chuckled in the kiss, slightly crouching down to not make Jaren stretch too much.

Out of everything else in the world, Jaren found what he most definitely didn't want to let go: _John_.

A noise came from besides them, and they immediately pulled away, glancing back at a car who drove right past them.

Jaren realized that they were kissing in the middle of the sidewalk. It was dark, sure, but it was still out in the open. Jaren hid his face in his hands, whispering an "Oh my God". John chuckled and ruffled Jaren's hair, making the other let out a moan of embarrassment.

John grabbed Jaren's hands and moved them away from his face, making the other look up at him. Jaren was burning hot and his blush went down his neck. "Don't look at me" Jaren complained, turning his head to the side.

"Jaren" John bent his knees and tried to meet the other's gaze. "Come on" He insisted. The shorter teen finally looked up at John, and the other gave a small smile. John let go of one of Jaren's hands and fixed his grip on the other, holding it properly.

"I'll walk you back" John noted and Jaren nodded slowly, not really wanting to go back yet.

John's hand was warm and Jaren asked himself if his freezing hands felt uncomfortable. "Now you can finally stop tormenting me" John whispered with a chuckle. Jaren tilted his head "Did you say something?".

"Hm? No, I didn't" John replied. Jaren thought he probably just imagined it and kept walking besides John.

-

They both stopped and John turned to face Jaren. "Here we are" He stated and Jaren nodded, looking down at their hands. Neither of them said anything or moved. Jaren wanted to stay with the other a bit longer. Even a minute more would be enough. John gently squeezed Jaren's hand.

Their eyes met and John smiled. "Goodnight" He said gently, slipping his hand off Jaren's. "Yeah, night" The shorter said back after pausing for a bit. But he finally gave up, turning around to open the gate.

And as they always did, Jaren looked over his shoulder, noticing the other walking away with a grin that went from ear to ear. Jaren bit his lower lip, hiding a smile. He low-key hoped he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀 Too soon?


	12. Magical Realm Arc - #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to explain a bit how the magic works and the story behind it, just because inspiration struck me like lightning and I feel like it.

"And we're done for today as well!" Claudette announced. "Good job Jaren, you're improving" She finished, a small smile on her dark red lips.

Jaren turned to John, who was standing right beside him, and smiled as well, happy to know that his hard work paid off. "Unfortunately I'm going to ask you to come back next month. I have some business to attend in the magic realm" The woman informed, waving her wand around to organize the books in their appropriate place.

"Oh, is it something important?" Jaren asked and his grandmother nodded. "I've been asked to attend the party of the Queen's daughter coming-of-age" She explained. "The Queen and I have been close for a long time" She ended briefly, a sad reminiscing look on her face.

Jaren got even more curious, since he assumed she had been banished from the realm. "Can I come as well?" He asked and Claudette dropped the book she was moving with her magic.

"What?"

Jaren froze. Why did he ask that? Of course he couldn't, he was a male witch! "Why would you want to come with?" Claudette turned around to face her grandson, studying his expressions.

The teen flinched and shook his head. "I–It's nothing, I'm sorry" He apologized, looking down.

_I was just curious._

"Is there really no way?" John chimed in, grasping Jaren's forearm. Claudette sighed. "A human familiar and a male witch in the magical realm?" She laughed, finding the situation amusing. "That would definitely get me banished, or worse" Claudette joked and Jaren thought it sounded way more serious.

Jaren put a hand on John's, hinting at the other to just give up, but he shook his head. "I know you want to go" John stated and Jaren looked down.

He was right. Jaren wanted to know about the magical realm, the people, if they really dress with big pointy hats and long robes, if they're all old women with wrinkles that trick children into eating them or–

John snorted silently, then cleared his throat, trying to hide it. "Please, Miss?" John asked the woman again, turning to look at her.

She seemed to think about it, then sighed. "Fine, but if they end up punishing **me** for it, then I'm afraid your lessons end here" The woman decided.

 _Awesome._ If Jaren wasn't anxious before then he certainly was now. He turned his head to John, not feeling so sure about his decision already.

"It's going to be fine" John reassured and Jaren scrunched his face, feeling uncertain. He didn't want to get his grandmother in trouble just because of who he is.

John held Jaren's hand, trying to give the other some confidence. "Come on, they'll understand. It's the 21st century for fuck's sake!"

Jaren let out a big breath, then nodded. "We're leaving in an hour, go get ready. If you're late, I'm leaving without you" Claudette announced and turned again to organize her things. "What?! Just one hour?! It would take at least a week to convince mom!" Jaren complained but the woman shushed him. "I'll take care of her, just go. Take this as a chance of testing your warping skills" She flapped her hand around, gesturing them to leave.

The two decided to leave and pack their things for the whole month they will be gone. "Good thing Winter vacation started" John joked and Jaren smiled, "Yeah, missing a whole month would make you repeat the whole year"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" John gasped, feigning offense and Jaren giggled.

Jaren then took a deep breath and shut his eyes, trying his best to focus on his room. The air, the smell, where the furniture was, everything. When John tapped his arm, Jaren opened his eyes and saw the bright blue light coming from the wall they were standing in front of.

"I did it!" Jaren raised his arms in euphoria and John ruffled his hair with a smile on his lips. "Good job"

Those two small words were enough to make Jaren feel butterflies in his stomach and his blood boiling in his cheeks. They both stepped in the portal, getting immediately into Jaren's room.

"Would've been nice if you could bring me home" John muttered and crossed his arms. "I–I'm sorry– You know it works only if I know where I'm going..." Jaren apologized but John laughed silently. "I was joking, idiot. Besides, I drove here" John cleared and the smaller teen dropped his frown.

"I'll see you soon then" Jaren said and John nodded, hopping out of the window.

Since Jaren's mom was so strict about his studies, he wasn't allowed to have people over or spend too much time with his friends, so John had to sneak in and out of the house when she was home.

A knock on the door interrupted Jaren from opening his closet and picking some clothes for the "vacation". "It's open" He informed and his mother opened the door. She was holding a black suitcase by the handle.

"I still can't believe mom wanted to see you after all these years" She sighed out, dropping the suitcase on Jaren's bed. "Remember to study and do your homework. I'm going to work" She directed, leaving the room right away. Jaren sighed. "Love you too" He whispered, turning to his closet and quickly filling his suitcase.

It didn't take long, and Jaren checked at least 20 times before finally closing the suitcase and leaving the house, taking one last look at it before actually starting to walk down the sidewalk.

-

 **10 minutes ago**  
John: be down in a sec

Jaren glanced at the text once again, then sighed. _Where in the hell is he?_ Jaren looked up at the apartment building, then down at the door. Nobody was there. The teen decided to write a message.

 **Now**  
Smii7y: should i just come up?

He kept staring at his phone, no trace of the other. Jaren flinched when he heard yelling coming from the building behind him. It was a man, but that's all he could make out of it. Then there was a slam and a ping down at his phone.

 **Now**  
John: no

After a minute or two, the front door of the building opened and the missing teen finally appeared with a bag on his shoulders. "Sorry, I made you wait" John apologized, sounding slightly out of breath. "Everything okay?" Jaren asked and John nodded quickly "Yeah, let's go"

They walked into one of the alleyways of the area and Jared tried his best on making the portal appear, succeeding. The stepped in and Klaiden was the first to notice them. "Young Master" He greeted with a bow.

"Hi Klaiden, where's grandma?" Jaren asked, looking around the room. "Oh, Miss Vixen is getting—" The sound of heels on the wooden floor interrupted the owl, followed by a voice. "Klaiden, where is my—!" Claudette appeared from the other room and interrupted her yelling. "Oh, you're here" She glanced at the boys, her bags floating around her. "We will be leaving shortly, after I find my damned necklace!" She stormed into the other room.

Klaiden excused himself and flew right behind Claudette, probably going to help, Jaren thought.

After maybe 5 minutes, Claudette and the familiar walked back into the main room, where the two teens waited patiently on the leather couch.  
  
"Ready boys?" The woman questioned, showing off her necklace of pearls and various colored gems. The teens nodded and stood up.  
  
Claudette calmly walked towards the front door, her suitcases following her in the air. "Take me to the Eternal Moon Realm!" She said loudly, waving her wand at the door, then she opened it.  
  
A bright pastel pink light came from the other side, quickly blinding Jaren and John, making them cover their eyes. "Careful when you step in" The woman said. Her voice sounded distant, almost echo-y. When Jaren squinted his eyes to see ahead, he noticed the woman on the other side of the door.  
  
He blindly took a step in, impulsively holding John's hand and dragging the other in.  
  
The air changed immediately. It felt softer, and the temperature was exactly perfect. Not too hot, not too cold.  
  
When Jaren's eyes finally got used to the lighting change, he looked around at his surroundings and if he didn't know any better, he'd think that he was a dream.  
  
Huge and small islands floated in the air all around him, weird creatures flew right above his head, and he swore he heard a dragon somewhere.  
  
"Am I high?" John questioned, looking around as well. "Maybe we both are" Jaren added. "Hey! Keep walking!" Claudette yelled, ahead of the boys. The teens rushed to keep the woman's pace and walked right behind here when they finally did.  
  
"Okay, I only have one broom" Claudette cleared. "Which means you both will take the bus" She finished. "Even witches are broke" John joked and Jaren snickered.  
  
Suddenly, a piece of paper flew in front of Jaren's nose and he grabbed it. "I drew you a map, don't get lost" "What if we do?" John asked. "Well, don't. I'm not coming to look for you" She scoffed, then stopped at a bus stop right above a cliff. Then, Claudette rummaged in her pocket and took out a small keychain of a broom.  
  
"Revelo" She said, pointing her wand at the keychain. A few light blue and yellow particles manifested, and the broom was now a standard size. The woman hopped on, Klaiden resting on the broom in front of her. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Claudette burst out loudly, then she pointed the wand at Jaren. "Mutatio Sexus"  
  
"What was that for?" Jared asked, looking down at himself and noticing nothing different. Claudette repeated the spell on John, then she explained. "It's a spell to change one's appearance to the opposite sex, but those who witness the enchantment can't see it".  
  
"Oh, your bus is here" She pointed out, staring at the vehicle flying towards them in the distance. "See you guys in a bit! And don't be late!" The woman yelled as she flew away with her stuff.  
  
Jaren glanced down at himself once again, then back at John. The latter shrugged.  
  
When the bus stopped in front of them, the teens stepped in. "Hello ladies, I've never seen you before!" The woman at the wheel greeted. "Oh, we're from... um... Another town!" Jaren lied with a fake smile. Luckily, his grandmother taught him some things about the magical realm: Eternal Moon.  
  
Apparently, once upon a time, the Realm was ruled by two twin sisters, but one of them was corrupted by envy, jealousy and greed, so she was banished in the lowest and darkest parts of the realm, away from everyone and her own sister: the one she was envious of.  
  
After a couple of centuries, the woman returned for revenge, and the realm split, giving life to towns and cities all around. The Dark Queen, as she was called, was brutally murdered in one of her failed attempts of stealing her sister's, the Light Queen's, throne. Ever since then, her granddaughter and current Dark Queen seeks revenge to this day.  
  
"What language was that?" Asked John, pulling Jaren away from his thoughts. "What do you mean?" The other questioned, sitting down at the back of the empty bus. John stared at Jaren for a second, then shook his head. "Nothing".  
  
For some reason, Jaren felt that this would be a very long and tiring "vacation".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you like yhe story so far, comments are really appreciated!


	13. Magical Realm Arc - #2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 back 👏🏻!  
> I'm so excitedd~

"Jaren?" A voice called.

It was sweet. It was gentle. It was... ticklish? Jaren opened his eyes and looked around.

"Jaren? Are you awake?" John asked and Jaren immediately raised his head away from John's shoulder, where he was sleeping on. "S-Sorry, I fell asleep" He apologized, becoming red as a tomato.

The other chuckled, thinking it was cute. "Don't worry about it" He soothed, gently ruffling his hair. "I think our stop is close, we should get out soon" John informed and Jaren took a peek out of the window.

Before his eyes was a huge city, full of witches flying around on their brooms, children chasing colorful stars in the streets and people casually chatting on the sidewalks with shopping bags flying around them. Everything looked so peaceful, and that made a small smile appear on Jaren's lips.

"Last stop ladies!" The woman at the wheel yelled and the teens stood up, walking towards the doors. Jaren thanked the driver before stepping out, and as soon as he did, the smell of fluffy cotton candy filled his lungs.

"Jaren, hurry up" John hurried from a few feet ahead and Jaren sprinted towards him, trying to not get left behind. The two followed the instructions Claudette gave them and successfully reached their destination.

John glanced around, trying to spot the woman they came in with, while Jaren just stood there, speechless. The building in front of his eyes was massive, probably more than 20 floors tall, Jaren thought. He glanced to the side, and noticed that John wasn't there anymore.

"John?" He called, but nobody answered. Jaren grabbed his suitcase, walking down the sidewalk a few steps. "John? Where are you?" He said, looking around.

"Are you lost?" A voice called behind him. Jaren turned, and he was met with a beautiful woman with brown hair and chocolate eyes, but the nose piercing was the thing that caught Jaren's attention the most.

The woman tilted her head to the side, blinking her eyes a few times. "Oh–! Um... I'm looking for my friend, he was here a second ago..." He explained quickly, still looking around for said friend. "If you don't mind, I could help you find her" She offered with a smile. "Oh, thank you but... I think I should just wait here" Jaren smiled back while scratching the back of his head.

Yeah, it was awkward. If she asked for details about him, what was Jaren going to say? He didn't know what John looked like!

The woman's smile didn't falter at the rejection though. "It's fine! I can look for her while you wait here" She said, her bright brown eyes lightening up when Jaren let out a sigh. "Alright" He gave in, starting to feel insecure without John by his side.

"Awesome! Name's Chrissy by the way" She extended her hand and Jaren shook it. "Oh, Ja–... um, Jannet, nice to meet you" Jaren stuttered, half-panicked. He heard the woman chuckle, but maybe he just imagined it.

And then the fateful question came: "What does your friend look like?" _Great_. Jaren tried his best to focus about John. What was he wearing? What would he look like as a woman? Would he look cute? With long or short hair?

"Jannet? You're spacing out again" Chrissy chuckled, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Oh, sorry. He– She! um... has a lot of rings! You can't miss that. And also very pretty... and colorful nail polish" He burst out, not knowing what else to say. "Rings and colorful nail polish, got it! I'll be back if I find her" She said as she walked backwards while waving her hand at Jaren. The latter did the same, a sigh escaping his lips when she turned around.

-

Jaren almost doze off on the sidewalk when he heard someone scream. "Jannet!!" His head sprung up and he saw the brunette woman running towards him. "I found your pretty friend~" beamed Chrissy.

 _My what?!_ Jaren immediately stood up and his eyes landed on John, who wore a devilish smirk. _Oh no._

Chrissy approached the teen and smiled brightly. "She got caught up in a fight" She explained with a chuckle, and Jaren's eyes widened. "A fight?! A-are you okay?" Jaren asked, checking John from head to toe to see if he was injured. "I'm fine, _Jannet_ " assured John, his tone focusing on "Jannet" while keeping his smirk present.

The other immediately blushed at the name, knowing what John was so amused about. He wanted to hit him so badly. "T-thank you, Chrissy" Jaren immediately changed topic. The woman nodded. "I'm happy to see you and your friend are together again" She said, highlighting the word "friend".

"I have to go now, I hope to see you two in the future!" Chrissy chirped, waving goodbye to the two teens. "Who was that?" John asked and Jaren shrugged. "She just came up to me and–"

"There you are!" A voice yelled from the building. The two turned around and met eyes with a dark, evil stare. "Why are you still outside?! I've been waiting on you for forever! Did your parents never teach you anything?!" fumed Claudette from the front door. "Seriously, your mothers should be _ashamed_ " The woman muttered, then clicked her tongue and threw a key at the two.

Jaren's gaze fell to the floor and he was about to apologize when John stepped forwards. Jaren followed the other with his eyes, and he just... leaned down to take the keys and walked inside without even acknowledging the woman. Claudette scoffed, storming inside.

Jaren, completely surprised, quickly grabbed his suitcase and ran inside as well, hearing the woman order and yell at John while the other walked as if nothing was happening. "Jaren!" The woman yelled, making the teen flinch. "Educate your pet, will you?! That's why humans are such ungrateful creatures! So humiliating!" She ranted, flailing her hands around in anger. Jaren apologized under his breath, but the woman hit her heel on the hard marble floor.

"Speak up!" She scolded, making Jaren flinch once again. "I-I'm sorry. I'll... I'll do better" He promised, keeping his head low. "You better!" She stormed down the hallway, walking towards the room she was resting in.

The door slammed shut and Jaren looked up, noticing John staring straight at him. He felt shame, embarrassment, anger. Why did he do that? What was going on with him? First he just up and disappears, then he does that!

"What was that all about?!" Jaren whisper-yelled once he approached John. The latter shrugged, rummaging in his pocket for the piece of paper Claudette gave them before.

"We're in room 106" John deadpanned, walking towards said door. "John!" Jaren called, but the other ignored him. John opened the door with the key Claudette threw at them and stepped inside.

Jaren was starting to get worried now. Or irritated. Or both. "What's with you?" Jaren asked after closing the door behind him. "Nothing" John said quickly, sitting down on one of the beds in the room. "Yeah as if _that_ was nothing." Jaren gestured towards the door and John sighed.

"John!" Jaren called out when the other remained silent. "Stop fucking yelling at me!" The other shouted, making Jaren take a step backwards. "I don't know what's going on with you but–" "That's the point! You don't know! You know nothing about me and neither does she!" John interrupted, flailing his hands around while keeping eye contact with Jaren.

It hurt. It deeply hurt. But he knew, _Jaren knew_ he didn't know John that well. He knew basically nothing, but he wanted to know. He wanted to understand what went through John's head, his fears, his joys, his goals, everything.

"Okay, calm down–" Jaren started, unable to take his eyes off John's. They were a deep and dark blue, nothing like he's ever seen before. He felt like he could actually drown in them, like being at the bottom of the ocean, with the pressure crushing your bones and the water filling your lungs, leaving you to nothing but drown.

But Jaren was not going to let him do that. "If I really don't know anything, then just fucking _tell_ _me_ what's wrong" Jaren took a step forward, gathering all the courage he had in his body. He was not going to let John drown.

John clicked his tongue, making his way to the door. "John!" Jaren shouted, grabbing his wrist and spinning the other around, but he wasn't strong enough so John just turned half-way. "What's wrong?" Jaren's voice sweetened, his eyes resting on John's. The latter ripped his gaze from Jaren's and lowered his head to stare ad the floor.

"Please?" Jaren squeezed John's wrist lightly. John gritted his teeth, jaking Jaren's hand away and walking past him to sit on the bed. Jaren followed, sitting on the edge of the bed as well.

The teens remained silent for what Jaren felt like hours, then John took a big breath. "I-I'm sorry" He started. "I shouldn't have lashed out on you". Jaren put his hand on top of John's, shaking his head lightly. The older man stared at the other, his eyes full of worry. "It's... fine, don't worry" Jaren lied with a smile, making the other's brows furrow.

John's pained expression hit Jaren right in the guts, making his heart stop for a second. "It's not fine. I shouldn't have done that. You have... You have nothing to do with him" He admitted, looking down at his feet. ""Him"? Who's him?" Jaren questioned, trying to figure out John's expression.

"My father"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know: Chrissy is Scotty's (407) wife! Since in a lot of other fanfics I never see the girls and I really like them I decided to put them here and there as small side characters.
> 
> It was supposed to be Simone at the beginning (Marcel/Basically's girlfriend) but then I remembered that they broke up :(


	14. Magical Realm Arc - #3

**Warning: This chapter contains violence, strong language, gay slurs and child abuse. Reader discrection is advised.**

The moonlight shone through the half-closed window, the silent creaking of the insects filling the quiet and dark room. 

"Mom, where are you going?" The brunette child asked, rubbing his eyes at the sudden wake. The woman smiled, crouching down on the bed to kiss her child's forehead.

The cut on her lip stung at the touch, but she tried to not make it notice. "Mommy is going away for a little. I will be back soon, I promise" She smiled, her black eye remained close as she caressed her son's hair. "Just stay strong, a-and... please take care of your father, okay?" She stuttered, her words getting caught up at her bruised throat as tears welled up at her eyes.

The half-asleep child, not fully understanding, slowly nodded and cuddled up to his mother in a hug. The woman finally broke down, silently crying as she held tightly her son for the last time. "Goodnight, my little prince" The woman rubbed the tears away and the child climbed up to kiss the woman's cheek. "Night momma" He said with a smile, looking deeply in the woman's blue eyes, he then lied back down on the bed.

And then, the door closed.

Along with everything else he cared for.

-

"That bitch!" The glass shattering against the wall made the child wake up suddenly. Hearing a man shout, the kid climbed down his bed, walking towards the door. He stepped on his tippy-toes to open the door, but the handle turned before he could even touch it.

The door sprung open, hitting him in the forehead. The kid fell backwards, tears immediately forming on his eyes as he rubbed the red spot. "Ah, she didn't take you" The man clicked his tongue, picking the child up by his worn out t-shirt. "I guess we're both worthless to that _whore_ " He snickered as he threw the kid on the bed.

The child hit the back of his head on the wall, his tears finally falling, his cries were silent though. He knew what would've happened if he made any kind of noise. "See, Johnny boy? Your mother loves you sooo much that she left! Without you!" He laughed out loud, holding his stomach.

His breath smelled like alcohol and the sun was barely out. The man suddenly stopped laughing and approached the child, anger filled his eyes as he stared at him. "What? Boy if you have something to say then _say it_!" He shouted, slapping the child on his cheek. It immediately turned red, making the small, brown mole near his upper lip appear more present.

"I didn't raise a fucking pussy! And now, with that _slut_ gone, there's nobody to defend you! Be a man!" He kept shouting, his slaps never ending.

The boy held it all in, trying his best to never cry. To never yell for help, never ask for anything. Everything he had, he gained with blood, sweat and tears.

As years went on, the abuse never stopped, but only grew worse. The boy started to apply make up to cover the bruises, always wear long sleeves to hide the red signs and keep on a mask to pretend he was fine.

 _Everything was fine_ , he repeated to himself. _Everything will stop_. He just had to be patient.

His father allowed him to go to high school only on the compromise of not having to spend any money and to be kept away from anything concerning his own son. But that's where it started.

Somehow, word started spreading faster than a cockroach infestation. All of a sudden, the boy was the talk of the department. Everyone labeled him as "faggot", "tranny", "slut" and other shameful nicknames.

He ignored them all. He didn't want to make things worse. He ignored the offers of sex for money, the mocking "make-up tutorials" and the disgusting comments he heard about himself and his own father in a bedroom.

 _It will be fine_ , he repeated. _Everything is fine._

Except it wasn't. That's when he realized it. His blue eyes landed on a brunette boy, laughing cheerfully with a group of other people. He kept staring unintentionally, and followed the boy's movements with his gaze. His hoodie was way too big for him, and he noticed the brown, curly hair sticking out of the baseball cap.

A painful feeling gathered in his stomach and his brows furrowed as he ripped his gaze from him. But it kept happening. Everywhere the brunette boy was, he followed him.

He found out that the boy was a year younger, and that made his chances of meeting the boy lower than what they already were. Deep down inside his soul, he hoped he would _never_ meet him. His anxiety always came back to bite at his stomach every time he got too close.

 _This was fine. More than fine. I don't need anything else_ , he thought.

-

"Just talk to him, man" The tallest man in the group said, stretching his long legs on the coffee table. "Yeah, Cam's right. What do you have to lose?" A blonde guy agreed, sitting next to the tall guy. "I... don't know about that, Toby"

The blue-eyed teen let out a sigh, making the fourth person in the room click their tongue. "Just fucking do it" He said as he flickered his lighter near the bong he was holding. "This damned thing" He muttered as he threw the lighter away.

"See? Even Eric's saying you should do it, and he never even listens to anything we say. Again, what's stopping you?" Cam asked again, receiving an "Hey!" from Eric. The tallest teen relaxed his arm on the back of the couch, his fingers almost brushing on Toby's shoulder. The teen sighed "Alright, fine" He finally gave in, throwing his own lighter towards Eric.

-

Jaren blinked his eyes a few times. "W-what was that?" He asked, rubbing his eyes roughly. John bit down his lip and shut his eyes, keeping his head low.

"John, what happened?!" burst Jaren, standing up from the bed. "I-I'm sorry" The other said quietly, almost a whisper. The shorter male crouched down and rested his hands on John's knees. As soon as their eyes met, John's filled with shame and fear. "I shouldn't... I'm sorry" He repeated, hiding his face with his hands. "It's just... recently I kept hearing you say... _things_ but you never actually said it, so I–"

Jaren gently removed John's hands from his face, interrupting him. "Hey, it's fine" He mumbled, rubbing the back of John's hands with his thumb. "Are you okay?" Jaren asked gently and John shook his head. "My dad... He– He kept abusing me... Over and over...A-and I–" John sighed, the words failing to come out. "You don't have to talk about it" Jaren reassured. John bit his lip and slowly nodded, making Jaren jump at him and hug him tightly

John, surprised, remained still for a second. He got caught off guard, not expecting the other to understand so quickly. "I'm so sorry that... you had to see that" John mumbled in Jaren's shirt, holding him for dear life, but the other calmly shushed him, patting the back of his head.

As soon as it came, the hug ended. Jaren distanced himself to look down at John. "I... I don't really know what to say but thank you for trusting me. You should've approached me sooner" John chuckled at the last part, gripping the back of Jaren's jacket.

-

"Have you calmed down?" Jaren asked, drawing circles to the back of John's hand. The other nodded, looking at Jaren with a small smile. "I'm sorry I took it out on you" John apologized, but Jaren shook his head lightly.

"So, how... did you do it?" Jaren turned his body to fully face John. "I don't think you've noticed, but... lately I've been hearing some of your... thoughts?" John tried to explain as best as he could. "You know... That night when I asked you to see me?" He asked and Jaren turned red immediately at the thought. The teen shyly nodded. "Well, um... I kept hearing you thinking about me, so..."

"You what?!" Jaren jumped up, gripping John's hand subconsciously. "Y-you heard _all_ of that?!" He asked, his voice cracking. Even his ears turned red. "I also never... actually asked you to kiss me back then" John admitted, his cheeks slightly red as well.

Jaren stuttered a mess of gibberish, his brain not fully understanding what was happening. His thoughts flashed back to that night, how he kept thinking about John's hair, smell, touch. The way his hands made him feel, how his lips tasted, _everything_.

He then sat back on the bed, his hands in his hair. "I'm so... sorry" Jaren apologized, his hands dropping to his face. "For what?" John asked, turning his head to the side. "I don't know– tormenting you?" Jaren peeked through the cracks of his fingers and hid immediately after locking eyes with John.

Jaren heard a giggle, and the sound resonated in his ears, flowing all the way to his heart to stab him 28 times. He slid down his hands, seeing that awesome smile on John's lips. Yes, that was the fatal blow.

"I know what you're thinking" John whispered, reaching his hand to hold Jaren's. "Stop it–" Jaren's cheeks were completely red now, but John only found it amusing. "I can't, you know that" John purred as he got closer, his other hand cupping Jaren's cheek.

The other flinched, his eyes shutting close. John chuckled, enjoying every bit of Jaren's expression. John moved his thumb over Jaren's lower lip, _teasing_ him. Jaren opened one of his eyes, getting immediately lost in John's deep blue eyes, and he noticed that they appeared almost lustful.

Jaren licked his own lip, his tongue sliding under John's thumb, and that little gesture made John's patience spill over, immediately closing the distance to place his lips on Jaren's. Jaren welcomed the gesture, letting John dominate the kiss. This time it was more passionate, rough, but still _right_.

And Jaren loved every bit of it. It hasn't been long since the first kiss they shared, but damn he missed it.

John distanced himself from the other, leaving Jaren a flustered mess. The taller male bit his lower lip when he saw Jaren's eyes flutter open. His pupils were completely dilated, and he got immediately pulled into those chocolate-colored eyes.

Jaren hoped time would stop right then and there. Being so close to John made his heart race, butterflies go crazy in his stomach and a very warm feeling rising from his feet to his cheeks.

The taller male gently rubbed his thumb on Jaren's cheek, making the other completely melt. "You're going to kill me" Jaren whispered, inching closer towards John's lips. He wanted more. He _needed_ more.

John smirked, then gently nibbled on Jaren's lower lip. The latter made out the cutest giggle John ever heard him make. And so their lips were connected again.

They both felt addicted to the other, like a deadly drug that none of them can get enough of. One kiss let to another, then a caress followed, then two, and not even knowing how, they got on top of each other.

"Jaren–" John breathed, resting in his left palm on the materess to hold himself up. "Hm?" "I think we should stop" Jaren let out a whimper, not really liking the words that came out of the lips he found himself obsessed to. John smiled and moved some curly hair out of Jaren's forehead, giving it a soft kiss.

John pushed himself off the other and sat up, making Jaren groan. "I don't understand how you can have so much power on me" Jaren sighed, pushing himself up to rest on his elbows. John scoffed. "Aren't you the one that controls me though?" "That's not what I mean!" Jaren gently punched John's arm, making him laugh. "Then what do you mean?" John asked, turning his head to glance at Jaren.

And for everything that's Holy, he regretted it. Jaren was a _mess_. His hair was super messy from playing with it, his lips looked slightly red and swollen, his neck showed small red dots and his eyes made John go crazy. He immediately ripped his gaze off when he realized he'd been staring.

"I mean–" Jaren pushed himself up all the way, sat up, and got closer to the other. "That you make me go insane" He cooed, making John flinch. "Jaren–" "And–" Jaren interrupted, putting his hands on John's shoulders. "And... I think I like that" He said, slowly inching closer to the other until his chest pressed on John's back and his head rested on his shoulder.

"What do you think?" He whispered, his breath tickling John's neck.

"I think that if you don't stop I'm going to kill you" John growled, trying his best to contain himself. That was until Jaren started nibbling on John's neck.

 _That's it,_ _Jaren is a dead man._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got a bit heavy at first so I wanted to "lighten the mood" a bit. Also I'm not good at writing angst so there's that


	15. Magical Realm Arc - #4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'll be going on vacation for the next two weeks, but the uploads should still come out smoothly

Loud knocks and bangs on the door startled John awake, making him panic for a second. He sat up, and when he looked around, he noticed this wasn't in his own room.  
  
A sigh of relief escaped his lips, but his breath got caught up in his throat when he finally looked down. Messy, curly brown hair, rosy cheeks, puffy lips and a bare chest were all he saw, then Jaren curled up and hugged John's waist. A blush quickly appeared on his cheeks when he remembered the night before.  
  
There was another loud bang, making Jaren grunt and hug himself closer to the other. "Jaren–" John called, his voice lower and raspy. He cleared his throat, then called for the other again. Jaren's eyes slowly opened, then he closed them again. "What?" He said lazily. His voice was lower as well, but quieter, almost a whisper.  
  
"I think we're getting kicked out" John joked after the hundredth knock was heard. Jaren whimpered and turned around. John sighed and decided to stand up, picking up his shirt from the ground and slipping it on. Then the door was opened and John's eyes met very furious ones.  
  
"Well look who's awake!" Claudette started, already too loud for John's ears. "Get ready, we're leaving in 5. You're a minute late and you're going back to Earth." She finished, spinning on her heels to walk towards her own room. John closed the door and scratched his head.  
  
The teen turned around and noticed that Jaren was back asleep, his quiet snores making it clear. A smirk appeared on John's lips, and he crawled up on the bed, holding himself up on his hands and knees above Jaren, who had his face into the pillow. He slowly lowered himself, his lips brushing over Jaren's ear.  
  
Small kisses followed, making Jaren grunt and turn his head the other way. John giggled, thinking how cute that was. But he didn't stop. He didn't want to. And even if he did, he couldn't. A trail of kisses followed on the side of his neck, making Jaren moan.  
  
John flinched for a second, but he kept going down to kiss Jaren's shoulder. And that's when he gently started nibbling. "John–" Jaren moaned, slowly opening one of his eyes to look at the other. A small "Hm?" came out of the other's throat, raising his head to look at the teen underneath him.  
  
Jaren slowly turned around, facing John. "What are you doing?" Jaren asked, his voice still raspy and very low. "Nothing" He replied with a smirk, inching closer to Jaren's face. The latter giggled, raising himself on his elbows to reach John's lips.  
  
 _The day couldn't start better than this,_ Jaren thought.  
  
-  
  
"Come on Jaren" John hurried, now dressed up and at the door. "Hold on!" The other said as he slipped on a shoe. "Your grandma is gonna make my ears bleed" He sighed, hitting the back of his head lightly on the wall.  
  
"Okay, I'm ready" Jaren said out of breath after running around the room to get his stuff. John rolled his eyes and opened the door and in the distance they could see Claudette and the owl waiting for them. Her expression wasn't the greatest, of course, and Jaren could already sense the scolding coming.  
  
They approached the woman, who sighed at their sight. "I'll explain what we're doing today at breakfast, hurry up" She rolled her eyes, starting to walking towards the entrance of the hotel, Klaiden following behind.  
  
-  
  
Jaren sat down on one of the empty booths of the café, John right beside him while Claudette and Klaiden sat in front of them. "What can I get you?" Beamed the waitress, stopping in front of their table with a notebook in hand. Jaren thought that she looked young, maybe in her mid 20s, but she would probably be way older than that, since his grandmother was supposed to be more than 100 years old and looked 50.  
  
Claudette ordered for everyone, assuming the two knew nothing about their food.  
  
After the food arrived, Claudette started talking "First of all, Jaren is going to be presented as my niece, while the human will be a noble friend of hers, so you have to look presentable" She said as Jaren and John stuffed their faces with food.  
  
"Wait, I'm a what?" John asked, with a mouthful of food. "A rich and annoying girl" The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, you will come with me to take measurements for your dresses" She said as she started eating as well. Every once in a while, she fed a piece of her food to the owl. A rosy blush appeared on Jaren's cheeks as John held his hand under the table for the whole meal.  
  
When they finally finished, Claudette paid and the waitress gave a small smile to Klaiden before leaving, making the owl show off his wings to the woman. She giggled, patting his head.  
  
The older woman snapped her fingers and Klaiden appeared immediately besides Claudette. "Stop flirting. Go get them some jewelry or something. Make it look expensive" She ordered and the owl bowed slightly, then left.  
  
The walk was brief, and they stopped in front of a tall building, which looked like it belonged in New York. Claudette opened the door and they were immediately greeted by a woman with shoulder-lenght and very curly orange hair. "Are my eyes deceiving me?" The woman asked, adjusting her small glasses on her freckled nose. "Don't tell me you forgot my face already, Kareen" Claudette laughed and the other woman, Kareen, walked around the counted and hugged the other tightly.  
  
Jaren was dumbfounded. His grandmother laughed genuinely, and she's letting someone else touch her?! Jaren glanced at John and he was as shocked as him.  
  
"I haven't seen you in centuries!" beamed Kareen, distancing herself from Claudette. "What about Leyla? Is she still working here?" She asked. The other woman waved her hand with a displeased look on her face. "Leyla is long gone, she left for some company that was popular 40 years ago or something, but they've been failing for the longest time now!" Kareen gossiped, returning to sit in her chair behind the counter.  
  
The woman's gaze met Jaren's, and she squinted her eyes, analyzing the two strangers in the room. "Girls, this isn't a shopping center, you can't be here" She sighed, but Claudette raised her hand. "They're with me"  
  
"And who might they be?" Kareen inquired, inspecting Jaren and John from head to toe. Jaren stepped forwards and bowed in a feminine way, putting one foot behind the other and then bending his knees. "Jannet Vixen, nice to meet you" He greeted. "I believe you're my grandmother's acquaintance?" He asked with a kind smile.  
  
"Grandmother?!" Kareen repeated, looking back and forth between Jaren and Claudette. The latter raised her eyebrow in surprise, a side smirk on her dark red lips. "My daughter's daughter" The woman explained. "This is my dear friend Joanne" Jaren introduced John, who kept blankly staring at Jaren.  
  
"Joanne?" Jaren called with a weird look on his face. "Oh, sorry" He said as he mimicked Jaren's bow, stumbling slightly on his own feet. Claudette rubbed her forehead and shook her head with a sigh.  
  
"We've been invited to the Queen's daughter's coming-of-age," Claudette explained. "And I was hoping you could do your magic on my granddaughter and her friend?" She asked with a smile, but this one Jaren recognized was her usual fake smile: the one she used when she wanted something from someone.  
  
"Of course!" Kareen clapped her hands together, a huge smile on her lips. "Please follow me, I'll take your measurements" She said as she hopped off her chair and started walking towards a door that had written "Staff Only" on top. Jaren and John followed her, Claudette staying behind. Now that he looked at the woman closer, Jaren noticed that she was very short and a bit round around the hips.  
  
When the staff door was opened, Jaren saw string flying everywhere, needles and measuring tapes flashing in the air between pieces of cloth and mannequins. "Right this way" The woman instructed, moving the beige curtain of the changing room. "You can undress here. Who's going first?" Kareen asked with a smile.  
  
 _Hold on, undress_?! Jaren and John shared a look, Jaren's completely showing that he did _not_ like the idea. "Can you not... take the measurements with our clothes on?" John asked, making Jaren let out a deep sigh of relief.  
  
"Well..." Kareen adjusted her glasses on her nose. "It's going to be hard to find the right measuring with clothing on, which means I might get it wrong, _which means_ you'll have to come back multiple times for re-adjustments" She explained, rubbing her chin with her fingers.  
  
"So... No?" Jaren inquired.  
  
The woman smiled. "I will wait for you".  
  
Jaren whimpered, then sighed. "I'll go first" He said, stepping in the changing room and closing the curtain.  
  
In the small room, Jaren glanced at the mirror...s, feeling a bit creeped out by his own reflection watching him from different angles. After a loud gulp, Jaren started to take his hoodie off, but he noticed something weird in the reflection. He approached it and touched his chest, becoming fully red when he realized he had hickeys under his collarbone.  
  
Memories of the previous night stormed in his mind, remembering the hot feeling of John's hands digging on his hips, his breath burning every inch of Jaren's neck. And then his lips. _God, his fucking lips_. The soft feeling on his own lips, jaw, neck and chest was overwhelming.  
  
"Jannet? Are you done?" Kareen asked from the other side and Jaren almost choked on his own breath. "Y-Yes, just– just a second!" He said, quickly taking off his shoes and his pants.  
  
Jaren took a big breath, looking one last time at his reflection. He covered his chest with one arm and opened the curtain, poking his head out. "I-I'm done" He stuttered, slowly coming out of the room.  
  
Kareen gasped silently. "Oh my, you could've kept your bra on" She giggled and Jaren became a deep shade of red. "S-sorry... I don't– I don't have one" He looked down, ashamed. He snuck a glance at John, who was eyeing him from head to toe.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I've met a lot of my clients who don't like them" Kareen reassured, taking off the measuring tape she had hanging down her shoulders. "Excuse me" She said as she started touching Jaren, lightly pushing his arms away. He resisted for a bit, but the woman won in the end. Kareen glanced up at Jaren, then down at his chest. "Now I know why you were hiding it" She muttered, a quiet chuckle following.  
  
Jaren wasn't facing John and he was glad it was this way. If John saw him right now, Jaren would die from embarrassment.  
  
When the cold tape touched his back, Jaren flinched, but tried his best to remain still. Not because of the woman in front of him, but because of the man behind him. He felt John's stare digging deep on his back, as if he was scratching him with his nails.  
  
Then the woman turned him around.  
  
And that's when Jaren died.  
  
Not really, but he did. Internally.  
  
A smirk. A raised brow. Teeth biting down a lip. Hungry eyes. Everything about John screamed at Jaren, and he could hear it as well. His brain was filled with John's thoughts, and he wished so badly it would stop. He glared at John, making the latter lick his own lip.  
  
« _You're hot_ »  
  
Jaren's body shivered, the tape going around his thigh as the words echoed in his head. "Alright, I think this is enough" Kareen stated, after making the flying pencil write the last measurement on a piece of paper.  
  
"Thank God" Jaren breathed, rushing into the changing room to put his clothes back on. He needed a very cold shower.  
  
Finally dressed again, Jaren came out of the changing room and John walked past him, brushing his own hand on the other's arm. Jaren glanced at his eyes and caught a devilish smirk.  
  
When John disappeared into the changing room, Jaren felt like he could breathe again. He's never seen John look like that and it felt suffocating. Jaren felt like a rabbit in a tiger's territory, always on edge in the predator's gaze.  
  
When he glanced around the room, he caught the woman smiling at him. "So, Jannet" She started. "Clay never talked about you. She really wanted to keep you hidden" Jaren caught a glare in the woman's eyes for a split second, but then they were back to normal before he could even say anything.  
  
"Clay?" Jaren asked, surprised by the nickname. "Oh my" She giggled, raising a hand to her lips. "It's a nickname I've given to your grandmother a long time ago. I guess I haven't let go of it" She explained with a smile, and Jaren started to think she acted a bit... weird.  
  
She was nice, but too nice. Even Canadians don't go that far, Jaren thought. "How did you two meet?" He asked, copying the fake smile the woman wore. "Oh we go way back" She chirped. "We met at the academy, she was one of the best students ever, the complete opposite of me" Kareen giggled "Clay used to give me lessons, she was a great teacher" "She is" Jaren agreed, and he caught another glare, this time lasting a bit longer than the previous.  
  
But their conversation was quickly interrupted by the sound of the curtain opening. "I'm ready" John said, glaring at the woman. Jaren assumed he heard the whole conversation as well, but the woman kept her usual smile as she approached John. "Such pale skin" She muttered as she started lining up the measuring tape with John's arms.  
  
For some reason, Jaren felt an overwhelming feeling of anger every time Kareen's fingers brushed on John's skin, and the thoughts kept blaring in his mind so loudly that he couldn't hear whatever they were talking about. He just saw the woman laugh and John's lips move.  
  
"Jar– Jannet" John called and Jaren blinked a few times away from his trance. "Y-Yes?" He said, locking eyes with John. The latter didn't say anything, he just stared at Jaren with a small smile on his lips.  
  
 _Oh._  
  
The feeling slowly disappeared as he focused his thoughts on only John. Jaren silently chuckled at how easily John could reassure him. The teen smiled back, mouthing a "Thank you".  
  
And a couple of minutes, Kareen decided she had enough and dismissed John, making him go back to dress up. The woman exited the to talk with Claudette about the dresses, so it was only John and Jaren in the room.  
  
"I don't like her" Jaren said quietly, trying not to be heard by Kareen. "Why?" John asked from the other side of the curtain. "Who smiles that much?!" Jaren hissed, making John laugh. "I'm serious!" The shorter male said. "Sorry, but you're right. She sounded weird" John agreed. "Hey can you come in here and help me?" He added, and Jaren approached the curtain. "Sur–" The brunette got interrupted by John's hand taking his arm and yanking him into the small changing room.  
  
Jaren remained quiet for a second, his brain slowly realizing what happened. "What are you doing?" Jaren whispered. John's hands wrapped around the shorter's hips. "What do you mean?" John feigned ignorance, a smile on his lips. Jaren looked down, too embarrassed to look at John's lips, but he regretted that decision more than anything.  
  
John wasn't wearing a shirt. The only thing covering his body were a pair of jeans and Jaren had no idea where else to look.  
  
He felt a soft peck on his head and he slowly looked up, John's warm eyes greeting him immediately. "I couldn't hold back" He purred, hugging Jaren closer. The latter fell immediately into the comforting hug and slowly wrapped his arms around John's neck, standing on his tippy-toes to reach better. John giggled softly, lowering his knees to avoid making Jaren uncomfortable.  
  
John's smell filled Jaren's lungs, and the fact that he wasn't wearing perfume made it even better. "You smell good" Jaren softly cooed, holding John tightly. "Do I?" John teased, leaving little pecks on Jaren's clothed shoulder. Jaren hummed in response, then slightly pushed himself away to face the other. "What?" John asked, a grin on his face. "Nothing" Jaren replied, unable to stop a smile.  
  
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, unable to stop each other from closing the distance between them. When their lips finally met, Jaren felt immediately better, as if the whole time they were apart, he was missing a part of himself.  
  
When they finally parted, John closed the distance again, not having had enough. He pulled Jaren's hips closer to his as he kissed him deeply. Jaren slightly parted his lips to let out a moan, and John took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside.  
  
Jaren's heart was beating a hundred miles per hour, and he felt like he wanted more, and more, and more. The shorter male let John dominate the kiss, making his tongue explore Jaren's mouth.  
  
Eventually they had to breathe, and Jaren pulled away with heavy breaths. "Jesus Christ" He breathed, making John snicker.  
  
"I felt it, you know?" John said, moving a strand of hair from Jaren's cheek. "Felt what?" Jaren asked, closing his right eye when John's hand got close to his cheek. "You were jealous" "No I wasn't" Jaren lied, pouting. John raised his eyebrows with a "Really?"  
  
Jaren rolled his eyes and hit his forehead on John's chest. "Whatever" He muttered and John let out a laugh. "You're so cute" The taller male moved one of his hands to pat his head. The other blushed, red as a tomato. Those 4 small words made his heart race so fast that he feared John could hear it too.  
  
"We should go" John said, slowly removing his hand from Jaren's hips. The latter whimpered and grabbed John's wrist, putting it back where it was. "Five more minutes" He pleaded as he looked up at the other. John rolled his eyes with a smile, then gave a small peck on Jaren's forehead "Five minutes".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small side note: Kareen is pronounced "Karin", I just wanted to make it look fancy


	16. Magical Realm Arc - #5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyoo how y'all doin? I wanted to thank you for 1k hits!! I'm so happy people are actually reading this 😭

"Took you long enough" Claudette scoffed when the two teenagers came out of the staff room. "Sorry grandmother" Jaren apologized, still blushing from the cuddling he got a few minutes prior.

The teen glanced around the room and noticed that she was the only one there. "Where is Kareen?" Jaren asked. "She said she has some ideas for you and went to take some fabric in the storage room. Knowing her, we'll be here for a while" Claudette sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

  
"I'm back~" Kareen chanted as she came back with rolls of fabric covering her eyesight. As she was walking, she hit something along the way, tripped and fell.  
  
Jaren rushed to help her as she laughed it off. "Are you okay?" Jaren asked and the woman smiled. "Yes, I'm fine" She reassured between laughs. John bent down and helped pick up the fabric, making sure it didn't get ruined.  
  
The shorter male helped the woman stand up, struggling a bit. She thanked him, grabbing the remaining fabric on the ground. "I've been telling you to be careful for decades" Claudette remarked, making the other blush and scratch the back of her neck with a nervous laugh. Then she cleared her throat and explained the idea she had in mind for the designs, drawing a sketch of the dress as she talked.  
  
"Are you sure you want to use this, then?" John asked, feeling a dark blue piece of fabric in his hand. "What do you mean?" Kareen asked, tilting her head to one side. " _I mean_ that this is not going to look great. You should use this one instead" He explained, reaching over to grab a light blue colored fabric. "It won't make the dress feel heavy and if you put it – over heere" He said, grabbing the pencil and drawing over Kareen's sketch. "It will also make Jare– Jannet's skin look darker" John corrected himself, glancing up at Jaren and then back at the design. "Also the stitching method for the sleeves is going to make them fall apart in a matter of an hour or two, knowing her" John explained, going on and on about the dress' flaws.  
  
Kareen interrupted John, her brow twitching. "Excuse me, but I know what I'm doing" She hissed, yanking the piece of paper out of John's hand. "Don't think so" He muttered with a shrug. Jaren was about to interrupt and avoid starting a fight, but the short woman was faster than him. "What was that? Do you even know who I am?" Kareen sassed, clicking her tongue. "Obviously you're someone who has no idea what they'r–"  
  
"Immobilis" Claudette said, her wand pointed at Kareen. The woman immediately stopped, standing still like a statue. "Jaren," The woman started, her voice quivering in anger. "What is he doing?" She asked, a deep breath escaping her lips. Jaren slowly turned around to fully face her, but as soon as his eyes met hers, he immediately looked down. "I–I'm sorry" He apologized, but the woman wasn't going to let go of it this easy.  
  
She slowly approached him, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. He looked up to face her, but still avoiding her eyes. "If you _are sorry_ ," Claudette enunciated loudly, "Then do something about it!" She yelled, a loud Slap! following right after. Jaren felt his cheek sting and gritted his teeth to not cry in pain.  
  
Jaren saw that John was about to lounge at the older woman, but he stopped him in time, grabbing his wrist and keeping John behind him. "I will _not_ tolerate this kind of behavior anymore! How dares a mere human speak that way to a witch?!" She shot, smoke coming out of her ears. "You should be glad she's even _considering_ this! Do you know how much time and money it takes to have a dress done in less than a week?" fumed Claudette.  
  
Jaren slowly shook his head. "I'm s–sorry" Jaren's voice quivered. "I'll keep him at pace." He promised, glancing up at her. "I want to hear it from him" She demanded, glaring at John.  
  
The teen glared back at her, standing his ground. Jaren stared at John, and they shared a look for a second, then his eyes fell to the ground, keeping his head low. He knew John wasn't going to apologize, knowing how headstrong he is.  
  
"I will not wear this" John argued, pointing at the paper in Kareen's hands. The woman looked down at John, a displeasing look on her face. "Then so be it" cursed the woman as she raised her wand. "Finitum incantatio" She cast and Kareen started moving again.  
  
Claudette did a 180 on her heels and turned around towards the door. "We're leaving. Sorry to have disturbed you, Kareen. They're going home" She declared. Jaren's eyes went wide, and he turned towards John. He furrowed his brows, a pained expression on his face, then he ran after his grandmother.  
  
"Please, grandmother" Jaren pleaded, running behind Claudette to catch up. "I'll– I'll educate him, please–! I-I want to know more! I'll do whatever you want, please. I don't want to go home" He promised, his voice quivering and stuttering. The woman kept walking, as if she couldn't hear the teen behind her.  
  
She snapped her fingers and Klaiden appeared shortly after from a small portal. "Klaiden, whatever you took, return it. They won't need it" The woman ordered and the owl glanced at Jaren, then back at his owner. "Yes, ma'am" He said, disappearing again in the previously created portal.  
  
"No– Klaiden wait!" He yelled, but the owl was already gone. The woman snapped and turned around, glaring at the boy. "Are you doing this on purpose? Making _me_ look bad in public? Who do you think you are?!" She growled, and Jaren shrunk down in front of her, like a deer in front of a lioness. He quickly shook his head, slowly starting to panic. "N-No I– I just... I don't want to leave and um... I-I'm sorry. I promise–" He ranted, his eyes finally starting to sting.

"I gave you enough opportunities, Jaren. I am done." She declared, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Jaren opened his mouth to counter, but nothing came out. He felt tears slowly come out of the corners of his eyes, but he quickly rubbed them away. "Go get your stuff ready. If that... _animal_ is not ready, I'll leave him to rot here" Claudette commanded, turning back around and walking away.  
  
This time, Jaren didn't follow her. Instead, he stayed still and just watched her walk away, slowly feeling the pain on his cheek rise. He raised his hand and touched it, the hot sensation burning his hand. "Jaren!" John called from behind him, and everything he felt suddenly turned into anger.  
  
Jaren turned around to glare at the other. "Why are you like this?!" He yelled, making everyone in the streets turn around to look at him. "Why can't you just back down for once?!" He continued, and John raised his hand to rub Jaren's arm, but the other slapped his hand away.  
  
"Don't touch me! This is all your fault!" He shot, tears finally starting to fall down. "Jaren, I don't think we should talk about it here–" "I don't care!" He shouted, his voice shaking. "Jare–"  
  
"I said that I don't care! We're going home anyways so–" Jaren got interrupted but John grabbing his arm and hugging him tightly. "Let go of me!" Jaren struggled, but his short figure couldn't win against John's. "I– I hate you" He muttered, his muffled voice slowly breaking down.  
  
John held him even tighter, biting his lower lip. "I know... I'm sorry" He said quietly, and the only sounds he heard afterwards were muffled sniffles and sobs, stabbing him in the chest each time.  
  
The taller male waited for Jaren to finally calm down, then he let go of him. "Let's go back, okay? I'll apologize properly, I promise" John said honestly, but Jaren remained quiet, rubbing his eyes with his hoodie's sleeves. John slipped his hand down and took Jaren's, but the latter pulled his hand away.  
  
John gritted his teeth, feeling a sharp pain on his chest. He really fucked up this time.  
  
-  
  
Back at the hotel room, none of them spoke a word. The room was dead silent, except for Jaren's leg bouncing up and down and making the wooden floor creak. "Jaren," John called, sitting down on the end of the bed next to Jaren. "It's going to be fine" He reassured, putting a hand on Jaren's knee to stop it from possibly destroying the floor. "No it's not" He monotoned, moving John's hand away and scooting a bit further away from the other.  
  
John sighed. "I know I'm a dick, but–" "Good" Jaren interrupted, glaring at John. "– But I'm sorry" He finished, his pained expression stabbing Jaren's chest. John inched closer, but Jaren distanced himself again. When he tried again, Jaren stood up. "For fuck's sake John! Stop it! I don't want to be near you" He shouted, the words echoing in the room. "You fucked it all up! I wanted to be here and learn new things about them! About _me_! But you ruined it" Jaren pressed his lips together in a thin line, unsuccessfully trying to keep his tears from falling.  
  
The taller male stood up to comfort the other, but he stopped himself. "I'm sorry– I'll... Just give me a minute" He said, walking right past Jaren and exiting the room.  
  
Jaren sat down on the bed again, his tears falling down harder now that he was left alone. He turned around and crawled up to rest his head on the pillows, taking one to hug close to his chest.  
  
The pillow was quickly drenched in tears, and Jaren curled up into a ball. The quiet sobs felt so loud in his ears, but the pain in his chest was even louder. The banging of his heart was deafening, and he wished everything would just stop and quiet down.  
  
He tried to distract himself, but the only thoughts in his mind were all about the things he could learn, but never will. The history of his people, their accomplishments, the truth about himself.  
  
Suddenly, Jaren heard a piano playing in his ears, and he sat up, looking around the room. The soft melody continued, and it felt so close yet so far. He stood up, feeling dizzy for a second, reaching for the handle of the door. He opened it and glanced around the hall, but nobody was there.  
  
The teen closed the door and sat down on the bed again, covering his ears. The piano was louder now, but it still played softly and calmly. Jaren slowly started relaxing, his shoulders not so tense anymore, then he thought about it. _Of course_ , he thought with a choked chuckle.  
  
 _John_.  
  
Jaren bit his own lip, feelings of guilt welling up in his stomach. He felt like throwing up.  
  
The brunette immediately regretted the words he said, rushing for the door to go find John.  
  
"Jesus, you almost broke my nose" John took a step back, stopping the door from opening any more and slamming right on his face. But with his hands already occupied, he couldn't stop the other thing slamming on him: Jaren.  
  
They both fell on the ground, but that didn't stop Jaren either. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry" He apologized over and over, hugging John tightly. The latter held himself up on his elbows, trying to reassure the other.  
  
"Come on, get up. Let's talk inside" John suggested, pushing softly Jaren away. He nodded, standing up slowly. John got up as well, ruffling Jaren's hair a bit. They both stepped inside the room.  
  
It was silent for a bit, then Jaren opened his mouth. "I'm sorry–" He started. "I... didn't mean what I said before. I don't hate you at all! I l–" He stopped himself biting down his lip. "I'll apologize to my grandmother properly a-and... maybe hope that she will keep teaching me?" Jaren ranted, walking back and forth.

"Jaren calm down" John said, stopping Jaren by putting his hands on his shoulders. "I asked to see her already. She said to call you over" He informed, making Jaren's eyes go wide. "Y-you did? Why?" He asked, making John let out a quiet snort. "I care about you, Jaren" He said kindly, brushing his hand down to Jaren's arm.  
  
"I know you care about this and I'm sorry that I fucked it up for you" John apologized, a sad smile on his lips. "I'll do my best to let you stay" He promised, raising one hand to brush Jaren's cheek.  
  
A small tear fell down from Jaren's eye, and he looked down, small sobs leaving his lips. "J-Jaren?" John called, trying to lift his chin up. "Thank you" The other breathed, his voice weak and broken.  
  
Jaren inched closer, his arms wrapping around John's sides and holding him in a hug. John chuckled, hugging the other back, small kisses going here and there on Jaren's hair. "Why are you so nice to me?" Jaren asked, his voice muffled into John's shirt.  
  
John thought about it for a second, questioning Jaren's obliviousness. "Really?" John finally said, distancing himself a bit to look at Jaren. The shorter male looked up. "What?"  
  
"You really have no idea?"  
  
"I mean– You are tied to me so... maybe your... "actions" are because of my magic" Jaren confessed softly, his voice dropping lower and lower, almost to a whisper. John gave a small peck on Jaren's forehead. "I like you, Jaren. Not your magic or... whatever this is" He confessed, making the other stare up at him.  
  
Jaren was speechless. "You... huh?" He tilted his head. "W-why?" He asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Because," He stopped to kiss Jaren again on his forehead. "You're fun to hang out with, you're cute, you make me forget about everything else and overall you just... give me hope" His hand gently cupped Jaren's cheek, the other immediately leaning into it.  
  
The shorter male stared deeply into the other's eyes, the deep blue staring right back into his soul. "I like you, Jaren" John whispered, his thumb brushing over Jaren's lips. The latter parted his lips slightly, welcoming the gesture.  
  
Then, John pulled his hand away. "We should go" He said, leaving a kiss on Jaren's cheek. He grabbed his hand, slowly pulling him outside the room. Jaren followed, slowly building up confidence, but it all immediately flushed down the toilet when they stood in front of Claudette's hotel room.  
  
Jaren took slow breaths, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat. "Should I knock?" John asked, but Jaren shook his head. He slowly raised his fist and gently knocked twice, his hand shaking slightly.  
  
"Come in" She ordered, the door unlocking. John pressed his hand on the door and slowly opened it, stepping inside with Jaren behind him.  
  
"Oh, you're here" The woman said, while waving her wand to make colorful vials mix and float around her. The room smelled strongly like lavender and white chocolate, making John flinch and cover his nose. "G-grandmother" Jaren greeted with a shy bow, his voice shaking. "J-John and I... um... We wanted to apologize" The shorter male explained, his eyes focusing everywhere else except Claudette.  
  
He noticed more "odd" things inside the room: The bed was filled with books and scattered dressed, as well as small white and bigger brown feathers which Jaren assumed to be Klaiden's, except he wasn't in the room at the moment.  
  
"And?" Claudette said, putting down her wand and making the vials rest on the table and turning towards them. John swallowed down his pride and lowered himself on one knee, then the other, then he rested his head on the wood flooring. "I apologize for my actions" He said honestly, gritting his teeth.  
  
Jaren wanted so badly to tell John to just stand up and leaving, but he stopped himself and apologized to John in his head. "I'm sorry too, grandmother" Jaren looked up at her, meeting her amused gaze. She was smirking, resting her chin on the back of her hand.  
  
The woman chuckled and Jaren felt shivers go down his spine. "What a beautiful sight. Humans being brought back to where they belong truly is the best feeling a witch could ever feel, kneeling down like the animals they are" Her chuckle turned into a laugh and John fought the urge to stand up and punch her in the face.

Claudette ended her laugh with a satisfied smile. "Very well, I'll let you stay and Jaren can continue being my student" She declared, making Jaren smile from ear to ear. "Thank you, grandmother!" beamed Jaren, making Claudette glare at him for being too loud, he apologized right away and looked besides him, right where John was slightly crouched down, dusting off his pants.  
  
Jaren hugged John tightly from the side, whispering "Thank you" over and over. The woman in the room scoffed and turned around to resume her potions-making. The two teens decided to leave before the woman changed her mind.  
  
When they arrived in their own room, Jaren jumped on John, wrapping his legs behind the other's back and hugging him tightly, making the other stumble backwards. "Careful–" John said with a chuckle, holding Jaren up so he wouldn't fall. "Thank you so much" Jaren repeated, kissing the top of John's head.  
  
John giggled and looked up at Jaren, smiling brightly at the other. "I'm sorry you had to do that though" Jaren said honestly, his smile dropping. "It's fine," John reassured right away. "But if you tell anyone, you're dead" He threatened, making Jaren laugh again.  
  
John took a step forwards and gently pressed Jaren's back on the wall to hold him better. When Jaren looked down at John, he noticed a smirk on his face. "I know what you're thinking" John intoned, making Jaren turn red immediately.  
  
"Shut up–" Jaren lowered his head closer to John's. "– Just kiss me already" He ordered, making John bite his own lower lip. "As you wish".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fucking rollercoaster but I'm not good at writing angst ;;;;


	17. Side Story - Panda's Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to not push myself to write, since I wouldn't write something I like anyways, so I decided to write something different yet still that has a sense in this: Anthony's Birthday!
> 
> Yay! Drinking! Music! Fun! Oh no!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT IM NOT DEAD (yet).
> 
> I hate myself for not writing enough of this and I have so many ideas for other fics I don't wanna start because I know I wouldn't keep writing on this one.

"This is gonna be fucking awesome!" The tallest teen sitting at the lunch table yelled, wrapping his left arm around the big guy's shoulders next to him.

A smack from behind made the teen flinch and lean forwards. "The fuck you yelling about, idiot?" The culprit asked, sitting next to the victim.

"Marcel, leave him alone" The Asian said as he sat down in front of Marcel and next to a giggling blue-hoodied teen. "Yes mom" Marcel mocked, rolling his eyes.

"Fucking brat" Tyler mumbled under his breath, and Marcel glared at him. "You know I'm older than you, right?"

"Yeah by just three months!"

" _Yeah_ but I'm still ol–"

"Children—..." Brock interrupted, trying to not make them fight again. The two grunted and grit their teeth, glaring one last time before turning away.

"Yyyoooo" A voice greeted loudly, dragging an empty table next to the crowded one, causing a loud screech in the populated cafeteria. "David you know you can't–" Tyler sighed mid-sentence. "You know what? Whatever. You'll get in trouble not me so why would I care?" He said, his tone changing suddenly.

"Now dere's space for you too, Brian" David cheered and the other sighed, giving a sarcastic "Thank you" as he shamefully sat down next to him.

"Who else are we missing? I got news!" Tyler added, looking around the room quickly.

"Scotty said he wanted to study more for midterms" informed Marcel, adding his carrots to Anthony's plate, but the latter just gave them to David, who was sitting next to him on the half empty table.

"Lui's not here, as always, and Craig focked up his plane ticket for ta way back home, so he's in ta back of the school trynna fix it" David explained as he started eating the hated carrots that were brutally rejected by his two friends.

"Jaren?"

"Present!" The youngest teen chimed in, sitting in front of David. "The line is so shit. What did I miss?" He asked, struggling to free the plastic cutlery from their plastic prison.

A knife appeared in front of him, and he flinched for a second, then he realized that it was John's multipurpose knife. He accepted it and opened the plastic bag, but John looked at him weird.

"Just eat with that. There's a fork here" He explained, pulling out said fork. It was small and it only had two prongs.

A loud clap brought everyone's attention to Tyler. "Now that _almost_ everyone is here!" He started, looking at Anthony on his left. "Who wants to get fucking wasted next week?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the two Irish immediately raised their hands

"Wait, why?" Brock asked with a raised brow and stopped Marcel's hand from rising. "What'd you mean why?! It's the big boy's birthday next week!" He announced and everyone turned to Anthony, who wore a devilish smirk and slowly nodded his head.

"Oh My God I totally forgot" Jonathan mumbled while food was still in his mouth, which caused a playful smack behind his head from Evan. "You fucking son of a bitch!" Marcel yelled with a smile. "It's settled, everyone is drinking and if I see somebody that's not drunk you better be either the police or his parents!"

Everyone laughed loudly, but they didn't know that Marcel was dead serious. 

-

"Why the hell did you bring so much alcohol?!" Anthony yelled and Marcel scrunched his nose. "What? I told you everyone is gonna be drunk tonight!" He huffed as he lifted the unnecessary amount of crates of bottles and brought them inside Anthony's house. The latter sighed and mumbled an "Oh boy" before closing the door.

The bottles clanged loudly as Marcel let them down on the counter. "Who the fuck sold a minor so much alcohol?" Evan asked as he was unwrapping the plastic red cups and arranging them on the table. "I have my ways" Marcel said with a smirk. Jonathan giggled as he set down some food plates.

"Thanks for helping guys" Anthony said, and helped Marcel move the cans and bottles from the plastic crates to the fridge. "Don't mention it" Jonathan said as he lightly smacked Anthony's back when he walked by to get more food.

-

"Is everything ready?" Anthony asked as he quickly glanced around the room. "Wait!" Marcel said, and after a couple of seconds loud music was blasting though the laptop's speakers. "Now it is!" He yelled through the music and Jonathan yelled as well, raising his fists as he mimicked a wolf's howl.

"This where the party's at?!" Loud yelling came from the front door and a bunch of teens rushed inside like ants on fallen food, except they brought more alcohol with them. And more people.

Tyler, Brian, David and Brock came in with a bunch of other people, and they all congratulated Anthony. The latter smiled and thanked each and every one of them, his cheerful tone bringing everyone in the perfect mood for a house party.

Everything was going smoothly; people were drinking, dancing, some even relaxing, and, of course, Jaren was late.

"Come on John!" The brunette rushed, making John grunt and roll his eyes. "It's fine! Being late is... Fashionable" He said, adjusting his short-sleeved button-up shirt with flower patterns to prove his point.

"Why are you even wearing that? Just looking at you makes me cold" Jaren shivered and rubbed his arms on his white hoodie. John shrugged with a "Beauty is pain", and opened the wooden fence gate, allowing Jaren to go in first.

The latter thanked him, but before John could go in, he got interrupted by another person rushing in to cut him off. "AH! Suckerrrr!" The helmet-wearing teen yelled while pointing at John.

Jaren turned around and noticed a group of males approaching the house. "Hey guys, glad you could make it!" Jaren greeted, and a platin-blonde teen waved at Jaren happily. The other waved back with less enthusiasm and the tallest of the group was the first one to speak.

"Thanks for inviting us, man. We brought... stuff" He said, whispering the last part. The shorter male yelled a "Fuck yeah!" and slammed the door open. "Who the fuck is ready to get fucking wasted?!" The crowd of teens immediately jumped in on the noise, their yells louder than the blasting music.

"I swear Eric's gonna get arrested some day" Mason commented, his thick Australian accent easily flowing through. Usually, he tries to hide it so Jaren was surprised when he heard the teen talk, and assumed he probably drank _or_ smoked something already. Probably both.

"I'm fucking cold, can we go in? I need a drink" Jay grunted and stepped up, obviously not caring if everyone else was going to follow or not.

Eventually, they all got inside and Jaren looked around the room, unsuccessfully trying to spot the "birthday boy". A hand touching his shoulder made him stop and turn around. "Got you a drink" John said loudly over the music. "Didn't know what you liked so I went for something light" He informed, handing one of the two drinks he had to Jaren.

"Thanks" Jaren smiled as he picked up the red plastic cup, bumping the cups together as a "Cheers", then drinking. The burning feeling of alcohol flowing down his throat but thankfully the coke numbed the taste slightly. A hot feeling spread in his stomach, and the frizziness of the coke made his nose itch.

"Yeah, I needed that" John let out a satisfied breath, then wrapped his arm around the shorter's shoulders and walked towards the kitchen, dragging Jaren with him. "Hungry" He mumbled in the shorter's ear as they reached the food table.

A junk food feast presented in front of his eyes, making the hungry teenagers question what they would be ruining their figures with.

A small sandwich was the first thing that John's hand clawed for, and it was quickly gone with just a bite.

A few more were all that John needed to feel full at least satisfied, and the man stared at Jaren for a few seconds, who was just sipping on his drink.

"Are you not going to eat?" The taller man asked, offering the last sandwich to Jaren. The latter thought about it for a second, then stood up on his tippy-toes to take a bite of the small ham and cheese sandwich.

John chuckled and finished the sandwich that was left between his fingers, licking one of them, and Jaren turned his eyes away with a mild blush, trying to hide it at the bottom of his cup.

"You already finished your drink?" John asked, wrapping an arm around Jaren's tiny shoulders in a friendly way, teasing the other playfully. "Oh, I– I didn't even notice" Jaren said, looking at the few drops that were left in his red cup.

"–ren! Jaren _fucking_ Smith!" A voice yelled loudly over the blasting music, and the teen turned to see who in the world was yelling is full name so aggressively.

A hand waved vigorously in the air, catching Jaren's attention: it was Tyler, mouthing a "Get over here". John followed Jaren's line of sight and noticed the tall male's brows furrow. John lightly pushed the man under him towards Tyler, and they squirmed through the crowd of already drunk and sweaty teenagers, but not before Jaren grabbed a full cup that was resting on a nearby table.

"The fuck are you yelling for?" Jaren finally confronted when they approached the circle of teens in the corner. "I was calling you for ages" Tyler growled.

The small group was formed by Tyler, Marcel, Scotty, Lui and Anthony. When Jaren noticed the latter, he immediately took a step forward and loudly said "Happy birthday!", giving a big hug to the big man in front of him.

"Is that my present?" Anthony laughed as he let go of Jaren, giving a glance towards John. "Are you that desperate?" Marcel laughed along. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" John defended himself, but got ignored.

"Hey man, I've been lonely for a while, give me a break"

"Yeah Anthony, "a while" being now 19 years" Tyler joked, and Anthony gave a small shrug with a side smile.

From behind him, a red-hoodied man wrapped an arm around Anthony's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Don't worry dude, _I_ will take care of it" He said, then took a sip of his margarita.

Silence and awkward glances flew between the other 6 men.

"Never heard this coming out story before" commented Scotty, wrapping his lips around the straw in his cup, and a giggle escaped from Jaren's lips.

"What the fuck! No, not me as in–!" Lui defended loudly, taking his arm off Anthony. "I hired a fucking stripper!" He cleared, and an echo of "Ooh"s filled the circle. "Nothing against my man here, but, no" The Mexican friend said honestly and Tyler laughed loudly, almost spilling his drink.

"So, what are you up to now, Lui?" Marcel asked when the laughs slowly died down. "Eh, you know, this and that" He replied vaguely, then quickly changed the topic, obviously trying to avoid the question.

Jaren stood there for a while, then eventually excused himself to refill his long empty cup. John decided to stick with him, noticing Jaren's wobbly walk and excessive spacing out. "Take care of him" Tyler said with a glare, and John raised a brow, feeling that the sentence was more of a threat.

John nodded, then walked quickly to catch up to Jaren, almost at the mini bar Anthony owned.

John gently grabbed the bottle of vodka off Jaren's grasp and the man groaned, turning to face John with a glare.

"Calm down, tiger. I think you had enough for now" objected John, raising the bottle higher when the shorter male tried to grab it. "How about something else? There's come Pepsi here–" He said, grabbing said bottle.

Jaren huffed, his brows furrowed. "You're not my mom, John" He argued, reaching again for his treasure, but it just kept slipping away.

The shorter male whined at his failed attempt, and he slouched back on the stool behind him. "I hate you" He grumbled as John poured Pepsi in his cup. "Can't hear you, music is too loud" John lied, then sat beside Jaren after putting the bottle back where he found it.

While his back was turned, Jaren was able to sneak a bit of vodka in his drink.

"Cheers" Jaren monotoned, raising his cup to cling with John's. The man rolled his eyes and raised his cup as well, then they both took a sip.

After a while, Jaren decided he had enough of sitting and jumped up from his seat, abandoning his sad and half empty cup of washed out vodka and grabbed John's hand, dragging him in the middle of the crowd.

"Okay, why?" John said simply, resisting Jaren's weak pull. "Oh, come on! You're really acting like a mom today!" The younger male nagged and John's brows immediately furrowed.

"Then stop acting like a child!"

"Oh, so you're telling me how to act now? What else? You're gonna send me to bed without dinner?" Jaren bickered, letting go of John's hand.

"Jaren–" John started with an exasperated sigh, but the other immediately cut him off. "No, I don't wanna hear it! You're gonna nag at me again and that's the last fucking thing I need!" Jaren slurred his words, fire in his eyes.

Jaren totally hated it. He had enough of being considered like an 8 year old by his mother, treating him like he needs shelter from the whole world, and his grandmother, who probably hated his guts more than anything else.

And now John, too? He wasn't gonna let that happen.

At least half of the crowd was not aware of the incoming fight, turning their dancing and screaming into murmurs.

A loud "Fight!" was what alerted the rest of the teens, and at that point, all of the attention turned to the two brunettes.

John took a step forward and reached out his hand. "Let's go talk outside" He said, feeling all of the eyes on him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Jaren yelled, zapping the other's hand away. Immediate pain spread through John's hand, making the man retrieve his hand at the sudden shock, confused at first, but the realization slowly arrived.

"Jaren–" John called, but all he could see was the bright blue in Jaren's eyes.

A loud yelling coming from the middle of the crowd caught John's attention. "The fuck is going on here?!" Tyler yelled, pushing people away to get to the middle. His brows immediately furrowed at the sight of his youngest friend in the middle of a crowd that chanted the word "Fight" over and over.

"Someone turn down this fucking music!" He shouted, and his command was obeyed shortly after. "John, what are you doing?!" growled Tyler, and the rest of the group he was hanging out with appeared from behind him.

"He's just had too much to drink" John explained quickly, trying to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. "And now he's not listening to me" He finished, raising a hand towards Jaren.

Tyler glanced back and forth between the two, then slowly approached Jaren and put a hand on his shoulder, but when he did, the same electricity that shock John struck again, sending a wave to the taller male.

His hand flew from Jaren's shoulder with a loud "Fuck!", making him wince in pain at the sudden shock.

John immediately panicked and tried to reach for Jaren again, but another shout interrupted him. "There's a fight outside! He's got a fuckin weapon!" The shout echoed and glass shattering followed right after, making the crowd dispersed between people excited who ran towards the backyard and those who got scared at the word "weapon".

Nonetheless, the attention was no longer on the three guests, so John thanked those two people who decided to kill each other right at that moment.

John took advantage of the situation and grabbed Jaren's wrist, wincing in pain at the constant shock, as if he was touching active electricity wires with his own bare hands, and dragged a struggling Jaren in an empty hallway of the house, falling on his knees once he let out of the other.

"I told you to not touch me!" He yelled, and glared at John who sat down on the floor with his back to the wall, gasping for air. "Please, Jaren– Calm down" He said out of breath.

Jaren let a big amount of air out of his nose, and crossed his arms. "And don't tell me what to do" He argued, and John sighed. "Please" was the only word that left John's mouth, then silence reigned in the hallway, only muffled talks from the living room were heard.

"Alright" Jaren announced, way calmer than before, then crouched down to face John. "I'm a child" He said quietly, trying to hold himself stable in the uncomfortable position.

His eyes avoided John's, but the latter could see that his eyes were back to normal, as well as a very noticeable red blush on his cheeks.

"I just..." John started, but two girls interrupted by walking in the hallway and one of them almost tripping on John's extended leg.

"Oh my God he's so wasted he passed out on the floor" One of them muttered and the other grunted "Sicko" as they walked by.

John sighed and stood up, quickly grabbing Jaren's hand as he almost fell backwards when he stood as well.

"Let's go get you some rest" The taller male said as he led the other up the stairs, then kocked on the first door. When nothing was heard, he opened the door, glanced inside and the closed it. "Bathroom" He cleared, walking to the next door.

After confirming that it was a bedroom, John stepped inside and turned on the lights, quickly followed by Jaren who was holding his hand.

The shorter male immediately lied down, then regretted it when the ceiling started spinning because of the fast movement. "Oh God" He whispered as he closed his eyes, worsening the situation.

"I'll get you some water, wait for me" John said, stepping out of the room. "Lights" Jaren muttered, and John turned them off. He quickly walked down the stairs and reached the living room, and right at that moment, the music was turned back on, blasting his ears.

John squirmed through the crowd of people who filled the living room and finally reached the kitchen. "John!" He heard from behind him when he grabbed a plastic cup.

He turned around, and a couple of teens appeared before him. "I heard what happened from Tyler, is Jaren okay?" Evan asked, holding back Jonathan who had previously planned to "fuck his shit up" from what he heard from Tyler.

"Jaren got drunk, had a small fight and now he's resting upstairs" He explained quickly as he filled the plastic cup with tap water. "And why were you fighting in the first place?" Jonathan asked, moving Evan's arm away from him.

"I... denied him vodka" John chuckled at the silliness of his words, and Evan lightly hit Jonathan in the back of his head.

"The fuck–!"

"As long as it's fine now, then we're good. I'll try to convince Tyler and Brian to not murder you" Evan joked, and dragged Jonathan away while nagging at him.

John was finally able to breathe again, feeling as if he angered the boss of the mafia by hurting the youngest daughter.

The teen quickly returned to Jaren's room, and the latter got into a sitting position on the bed he was laying on.

The cup of water was handed to him and gulped down in less than 5 seconds, then returned to John's hands. "Are you feeling better?" John asked, abandoning the empty cup on a wooden table. "Kinda" Jaren replied vaguely, lying back down on the bed. "I almost threw up on the bed, but I think I just messed up the toilet a bit" He chuckled.

John sat beside him, almost unable to make out Jaren's expression in the darkness. "If you need anythin–"

"I'm sorry" Jaren interrupted, moving to lie on his side. The moon shone on his face, the light reflecting on his eyes. A faint blush appeared under his eyes, as if he'd been crying.

"I'm the one who has to apologize, not you" John raised a hand, but interrupted himself when he was too close to Jaren, fearing a trigger once again.

"I'm– Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" John grunted, a hand flowing through his hair. "I know I shouldn't have acted like that, but when I see you... hurting yourself, I just–" He struggled to find the words he wanted to say, and Jaren noticed, despite his drunken state.

A hand slowly moved on the cold comforter, inching closer towards another. Fingers brushed on each other, a simple yet familiar gesture.

A smile crept on Jaren's lips, his warm hand in John's. "Thanks" He whispered, his eyes closing as he enjoyed the moment.

That's something Jaren liked: the small little moments he shared with John. Where he felt safe, happy, and he felt like being himself. He didn't have to hold back, fearing he might get laughed at or be thrown away.

Somehow, John made everything good and bearable. John made everything worth it.

And that, he loved the most.

Jaren felt a cold hand on his head, so he opened his eyes, his heart sinking when he saw the dimples appear on the side of John's cheek.

"You're cute" John mumbled, his hand slowly caressing the younger's hair. The teen curled up in embarrassment, hiding his face in the soft mattress. A small chuckle made him glance up at the other.

Tension pulled strings between the two, making the shorter male unable to breathe correctly. Eventually, Jaren lightly pulled John's hand towards himself, cuddling up to that sweet little moment.

A tiny smile grew on his lips, as his eyes closed and sleep rapidly found his way in.


End file.
